COWS AND MACHINE GUNS. IS SWITZERLAND STILL A NEUTRAL STATE? THE OXYMORON OF "ACTIVE NEUTRALITY" BETWEEN THE WEAPONS LOBBY, RED CROSS, AND NATO When speaking of Switzerland, the mind inevitably goes to the cows that graze placidly in the very green meadows and to the watches that symbolize the punctuality of a pragmatic people accustomed to compromise, a melting pot of ethnic groups that does business with anyone because they are used to diversity… it is an idyllic world based on the neutrality resulting from the Treaty of Paris of 1815. Yet, after more than two centuries the historical context has completely changed. The Swiss impartiality is dead and buried, as some claim? Is the leitmotif of neutrality just a useful gimmick for allies maneuvering in the shadows? SOME INTERESTING FACTS After all, from 1952 to 2018 Crypto AG, officially a Swiss encryption company but de facto owned by the CIA and with little influence from other entities (German BND and perhaps Swedish secre...