Between Neutrality and Solidarity: Swiss Good Offices in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992

Between Neutrality and Solidarity: Swiss Good Offices in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992 is the first in-depth analysis of neutral Switzerland’s diplomatic engagement and mediation in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of 1979. Recently published in the Brill Series “New Perspectives on the Cold War,” it is a historical case study of the principal challenges that permanently neutral states face in times of international crisis and tension. It also examines the complex nature of the relationships between neutral state and non-state actors in situations of armed conflict through the perspective of recently declassified archival source material. Join us in person or online for the book presentation of the volume, followed by a panel discussion with distinguished experts Elisabeth Leake, Lee E. Dirks Professor in Diplomatic History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Robert Rakove, Lecturer in International Relations at Stanford University. The panel will be chaired by Siniša Vuković of Johns Hopkins SAIS and co-hosted by the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs and the History and Public Policy Program at the Wilson Center.

The book talk will take place at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, room 632 on Thursday, October 31 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM. For more information and to register, please visit the SAIS website.