Neutrality is an institute of international law by which states could ensure their survival in strategically important areas where they were surrounded by economically and militarily superior forces. From the very beginning, the policy of neutrality was of great importance in times of major historical conflicts. After certain time, the institute of permanent neutrality developed, and certain rights and obligations of states that acquired the quality of permanent neutrality were defined. A permanently neutral state is obliged to remain neutral in any war, and other states are obliged to respect its neutrality, based on an agreement, most often an international treaty. The institute of permanent neutrality was never rigidly established, as it changed by time and the needs of permanently neutral states, but today there is a system of rights and obligations established by international law that binds all permanently neutral states. The differences in the implementation of permanent neutrality arise from the act that establishes permanent neutrality. Permanently neutral states may be members of international organizations, except of those of a military nature such as NATO. Lately, the issue of permanent neutrality has become actual again, and the role of permanently neutral states in maintaining international peace and security itself. Switzerland is the country that has maintained the status of a permanently neutral country for the longest period, and Austria, Malta, Vatican City and Turkmenistan also have this status.