The School of History and Centre for War Studies will hold a workshop
This workshop brings together experts on a range of neutral states from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia to explore what a comparative, transoceanic and transnational approach can tell us about neutrality; how it was understood, utilised and maintained by contemporary state and non-state actors; and the extent to which it was either respected or violated by belligerents of the Second World War. In particular, it analyses the various factors and conditions underpinning neutral policies, the role neutrals played in the war and the legacies of neutrality in the post-war peace. It also examines how the policies of wartime neutrals have been remembered and interpreted in national and international discourses. In doing so, the workshop provides an opportunity to explore the global nature of the Second World War and the temporal framework through which historians examine the conflict.
It will take place in University College Dublin on 5 and 6 June 2026.
This research is linked to the Ireland in the World, Transnationalising the Humanities, & Violence and Society strands.