Rendering indifferent, uncharged or inoperative something which was previously involved in an argument or battle. Assuming the legal status in international deliberations of not being engaged in a particular armed conflict. Most recently, "neutralism" is used to denote a posture of nonalignment, in which a nation, group or individual seeks to constitute a mediating force in a conflict by guaranteeing equitable receptiveness to all of the parties of a struggle.
Before World War I, direct participants in armed conflict were termed "belligerents" and those not so involved were "neutrals". Separate codes of international law were applied. As conflicts are increasingly indirect, the creation of perspectives which permit negotiation among the varied parties of a conflict is of increasing importance.
Neutralizing creates a zone of peace in which a solution can be developed.
Since the end of World War I there have appeared totalitarian systems whose ends and means were/are so extreme that neutrality toward efforts to arrest can no longer be morally justifiable.
There is no middle ground between right and wrong, so if one is not a part of the solution one is a part of the problem.
Neutralizing minimizes the importance of conflict, when in fact some conflicts simply must be worked through.