Swiss Confederation

Switzerland, or as it is officially known the Swiss Confederation, is a sovereign state and federal semi-direct democracy under a multi-party parliamentary directorial republic located in the Rhine Corridor. It consists of 3 worlds and 10 star systems with the world of New Geneva in the Helvetia system as the seat of federal authorities. This peaceful federal republic is situated in a portion of space within the Rhine Corridor that borders the Channel Rift, Iberian Cloud and the Marseille Cluster and is bordered by the Federal German Reich and Benelux Union to the north, the French Republic to the west, the Kingdom of Spain to the south and Austria-Hungary to the east. Switzerland is in the interstellar sense a landlocked country as it has comparatively little breathing room when being surrounded on all sides by neighboring powers. However this has proved pivotal for the important role the Swiss Confederation now plays in European affairs. Currently the Swiss population of approximately 450 million people is concentrated mostly on the capital world of New Geneva, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two of the Milky Way's most important economic and political cities of Neu Zürich and Bern.

The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation; it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the Milky Way even to this day. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to numerous interstellar organisations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but notably not part of the Federation of Allied Nations or the European Security Council. However, it participates in both European and interstellar trade and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties.

Spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance European space in the Milky Way, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, and Italian. Although the majority of the population are German speaking, Swiss national identity is rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism. Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names: *Schweiz* (German); *Suisse* (French); and *Svizzera* (Italian). On coins and stamps, the Latin name – frequently shortened to "Helvetia" (also name of Switzerland's capital star system) – is used instead of the three national languages.

Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the Milky Way, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Switzerland ranks at or near the top in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development. Neu Zürich and Bern have each been ranked among the top cities in the Milky Way in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to the United Nations.