"Stormy years" the emergence of Swiss foreign policy

The Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 placed the management of foreign policy in the hands of the Federal Council. Foreign relations were no longer the responsibility of the Swiss cantons, but of the newly created seven-member Federal Council. At the center of this was the President of the Confederation, who was elected for one year at a time and was also responsible for foreign policy. In accordance with the Congress of Vienna of 1815, this was based on the two pillars of independence and neutrality. From its first meeting on November 24, 1848, the Federal Council had to deal with foreign relations. The young federal state was regularly threatened by various states, with only Great Britain proving to be a reliable friend, in contrast to France, which snubbed Switzerland on various occasions under the "Thurgau" Emperor Napoleon III. The actor-centered study attempted to depict the actions of the various actors on the basis of various events, such as the Savoy trade in 1859/60. This revealed a change in foreign relations, with Switzerland becoming the third pillar of successful international humanitarian engagement.