The establishment of the federal state coincided with a wave of revolution throughout much of Europe, but by 1850 the old conservative regimes outside Switzerland had by and large regained power.

Relations with Austria were particularly tense in the early 1850s. Italians fighting for independence from Austrian rule used Ticino as a place of refuge, where they found general sympathy among the local population. The Austrians frequently violated Swiss territory in pursuit of these fighters, despite protests from Bern. Austria expelled about 6000 Ticinese from Lombardy and declared an economic blockade, adding to the hardships of an already impoverished region

Swiss neutrality enabled it to develop a humanitarian role, since its citizens could act impartially in other people's conflicts.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded by Henry Dunant and others in 1863. Although it was a private initiative, the committee quickly involved representatives of the Swiss and foreign governments in its work. An international conference held in Geneva in 1864 at the request of the ICRC drew up the first Geneva Convention, to protect wounded soldiers. Since that date the ICRC has been active in developing and promoting international humantarian law. There are currently four Geneva Conventions.

During the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71), when Strasbourg was under a tight siege and constant bombardment, a private Swiss delegation persuaded the Prussians to allow them to take three convoys of old people, women and children out of the city.

A few months later, in February 1871, the defeated French army of General Bourbaki was allowed to cross the Swiss border and surrender its weapons. The troops were interned throughout the country in the first large-scale humanitarian action of this kind.