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 <WSD>Asia</WSD> and Africa . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations