Switzerland's Adoption of EU Sanctions - Utilitarian or Normative Motive?

This study aims to analyze the underlying motives of why Switzerland adopts EU sanctions. The study attempts to examine the Swiss adoption of EU sanctions by conducting a congruence analysis. By applying the lenses of the logic of consequences and the logic of appropriateness, the study tests the explanatory value of utilitarian and normative motives to understand the underlying reasons for adopting EU sanctions in two specific cases: sanctions against Russia and Syria. Press releases published by the Swiss government are systematically coded, while interviews, foreign policy documents, and newspaper articles are analyzed through in-depth content analysis. The empirical data shows that normative motives, particularly shared beliefs such as ‘peace’ and ‘human rights’, play a dominant role. Utilitarian motives are also significant. Switzerland considered political costs and benefits, aiming to maintain positive EU relations and avoid becoming a hub for sanction evasion. This highlights the importance of utilitarian motives, viewed not as a traditional cost-benefit balance, but as weighing the political costs of compliance versus non-compliance. However, in summary, the prominence of normative motives (53%) in the data indicates that shared beliefs and identity are more likely to be the primary drivers of adopting EU sanctions and hence provide a more fitting explanation than the utilitarian motive.