The challenges of a small country trying to protect itself from war are examined in a new book by a University of Auckland lecturer.
The Art of Staying Neutral: The Netherlands in the First World War, 1914-1918 (Amsterdam University Press), by Dr Maartje Abbenhuis is the first in-depth study written in English into the maintenance of neutrality by the Netherlands during World War I.
Dr Abbenhuis, Lecturer in Modern European History, says the book explains how the Netherlands maintained its neutrality during the war, despite being surrounded by warring neighbours.
"Despite their neutrality, the war had a fundamental impact on the Dutch people, especially those living near the German or Belgian borders," she says. "They experienced the presence of police and troops, the constant threat of spies and smugglers, and barbed wire and electric fences which killed hundreds of people in the south of the country."
Dr Abbenhuis attributes the Dutch success to clever diplomacy, conscientious adherence to international laws, mobilisation of armed forces, regular patrols of territorial boundaries, careful policing and a measure of good luck.
"Dutch archives reveal a picture of a country much involved in war and suffering like its neighbours, but doing its utmost not to fight."
Dr Abbenhuis is also researching the history of borderlands, funded by a Marsden Fast Start Award. She took up the position of Lecturer in the Department of History earlier this year after completing her PhD at the University of Canterbury.
She emigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands as a child.
