The article discusses the phenomenon of neutrality in the foreign policy of Austria and Switzerland, whose scope of meaning is expanding in the context of changing conditions in the international security environment. The definitional and theoretical construction of neutrality, its conditions, functions and application in politics were analyzed. The article ends with conclusions confirming the role neutrality plays for Austria and Switzerland resulting from the deep history of the state and the identity of the nation in the face of contemporary challenges of the evolving international reality.