What fervent emotions swirl about a word like nonparticipant? None. That's the point. Words like neutral and nonpartisan, though thought to be synonyms of nonparticipant, are not. Words like bystander and noncommittal are closer. Nonparticipants may have
a strong opinion about any game at hand. Their stronger opinion is that they don't want anything to do with
the game.
The choice is usually personal. Less often it's National.
Machiavelli spoke of the latter case in his book, The Prince.
The Prince is a compilation of Machiavelli's statecraft advice. Many have said Machiavelli's ideas of statecraft are immoral. No one has said his ideas are impractical.
Warfare in the fluid principalities of sixteenth century Europe were commonly fought with mercenaries; hired soldiers known as condottieri. Machiavelli thought condottieri were unreliable, and dangerous. First, they could turn on you as easily as fighting the enemy. Second, they were paid the same whether they won, or lost, or just banged shield and sword together for the length of the engagement.
Machiavelli thought Switzerland had a better plan.
Switzerland was insular. When they had to fight, they did it themselves, without condottieri. Every soldier fought for home and family; that was their motivation to win. Money can't buy that kind of motivation. As a result they were largely untroubled by the wars that raged around them. No one was eager to fight the Swiss.
Centuries later the Swiss strategy has remained
the same. Maps of the European Union have a blank space in the middle, called Switzerland. They're pleased to be
a banker for the world. They're not pleased to fight in the world's wars, economic or otherwise.
Despite their lack of belligerent proclivity, they're ready to fight if necessary. Citizens are required to own a fully automatic rifle and ready supply of ammunition. F-16s use the Nations Autobahns as tarmac. Military training is mandatory.
The Swiss are reluctant to participate in other people's decisions, even culinary decisions. Swiss restaurants are fully a la carte. You pay only for what you order. Every little item served is priced individually. That may sound stingy. It's not. It's considerate. Why should you pay for items you didn't order? "Free stuff" is always paid for, whether you know about it or not.
Nonparticipation requires knowing what you want and what you don't. Most quarrels are pointless. So too, package deals, memberships and fraternities. You needn't join in any of them.
Just say:
No thank you.