neutralism

7.9

A country's choice to stay neutral in world affairs and not join powerful country groups

noun
/ˈnjuːtrəlɪzəm/

Formal

: neutralismo

The policy of neutralism allows countries to avoid taking sides in international conflicts.

Examples

Nei M. 2005. Selectionism and neutralism in molecular evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22: 2318-2342.

Academic text (2012)
American leaders have expressed concern about European neutralism and about a general rush to the Soviet bandwagon if the United States should flinch in fulfilling its alliance commitments.

Academic text (1990)
During the Cold War, many nations adopted neutralism to escape the influence of superpowers.
The concept of neutralism can help maintain peace by preventing military alliances.

Synonyms

neutrality

vsneutralism

22 4.4

Not supporting either side in a conflict or argument

focuses specifically on avoiding alignment with major power blocs internationally

nonalignment

vsneutralism

8.3

A policy of not taking sides with major countries or alliances

is broader, covering both personal attitude and official policy on neutrality

How Harmful

beggar-my-neighbor policy

Literature

9.9

protectionism

17 7.0

neutralism

Formal

7.9

cooperation

443 2.5

Surface Forms

neutralism singular

neutralisms plural

Morphology

neutralism = neutral (transparent) = neutral + ism

Formed by the adjective 'neutral' + the noun-forming suffix '-ism' meaning a doctrine or policy of being neutral, which is straightforward for learners.

Etymology

Neutralism comes from neutral, a word that means 'not taking sides' and originally meant 'neither', together with the ending -ism, which marks a 'belief' or 'system'. So neutralism is the idea or policy of staying 'in the middle' and not choosing sides.