Sentence:  A nation such as Switzerland could be neutralized by agreement and could be relied upon to protect its neutrality ; more doubtful , but possible , ( with an assist from the North ) was the neutralization of the Latin American countries ; out of the question was the neutralization of Asia and <WSD>Africa</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean