How did countries afford to stay neutral in wars, primarily WW1 and WW2?

Question

In WW2 the likes of Spain, Portugal and Switzerland remained neutral, how could these countries stay neutral?

What stopped the Axis powers from invading these countries to add to their countries?

In: 278

Answer 1

‘Neutral’ just means not engaged in active conflict. Neutral countries are still trade partners and can be diplomatic allies. Neutral countries are necessary trade partners in war, because the countries you’re fighting against and their allies have presumably stopped trading with you. Attacking neutral countries not only is a waste of resources, but it also provokes other neutral countries to seek the protection of the opposing side in the war, and now you’ve gone from a reduced selection of trade partners to zero trade partners.