An Interview with Oliver Thränert, Head of Think Tank at the Center for Security Studies (CSS)

30 Sep 2013

This month, we are proud to feature our parent organization, the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. Our interviewee is Oliver Thränert, who heads the Think Tank portion of the Center. He explains how he and his colleagues work to bridge the gap between political practice and academic research. He also highlights the most important publications produced by his division, including the recently launched Policy Perspectives series. Finally, Dr. Thränert shares his view on Switzerland's role in international affairs, with a particular emphasis on its conflict mediation activities.

A unique characteristic of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) is its commitment to bringing academia and actual policy development closer together. Your portion of the institution is responsible for pragmatically-oriented policy research, while the other conducts pure academic research. Why is this particularly important for the CSS and how does it actually bridge the gap?

Our think tank is one out of the few in the world that is part of a university department. This helps remind its members that genuine and substantive research always has to be part of their think tank activities. In fact, our researchers and members of our think tank staff not only meet together, and do so frequently, they also participate in colloquia with international relations experts outside of Switzerland. In-house and external researchers then contribute to our think tank publications, including the popular “CSS Analysis” series. At the same time, think tank staff members co-author publications with researchers that appear in academic journals and books. So, the whole process at the CSS features a vivid interplay between its various sections that benefits everybody. Researchers have an opportunity to step away from their ‘ivory tower’ while think tank members remain firmly committed to pursuing genuine research.

What do you consider the most important products produced by your think tank?

Our flagship product is “Strategic Trends”, which is a volume we produce annually. It typically features four to five analyses on topics of international relevance. In 2013, for instance, we focused on the “De-Westernization of Globalization”, “Maritime Insecurity in East Asia”, “Shifting Parameters of Military Crisis Management”, and the “Glocalization of Al Qaedaism”. With this publication series we indeed try and contribute to the international debate. Our CSS Analyses, in contrast, are designed more for a Swiss audience. This series appears monthly and is designed to clarify international topics that are relevant to Swiss policy makers and the broader Swiss public. The same is true for another annual publication, the “Bulletin zur Schweizerischen Sicherheitspolitik”, which only appears in German. Finally, the CSS think tank actively organizes national and international conferences and seminars on a variety of security-centered topics. In particular, we contribute to the bi-annual “International Security Forum”, which typically attracts over 500 participants from throughout the world.

The CSS has just launched its new publication series “Policy Perspectives”. How does this new series differ from other CSS products and what does it offer?

Other than the CSS Analyses, which appear in German, French and English, the Policy Perspectives are published in English only. The specific aims of this series are to participate in international debates, make suggestions on how to solve international problems, or even to trigger needed discussions on important international relations issues. The more general aim of the series is to make the CSS think tank a recognized and trusted forum for these types of debates.

The CSS is designed to help people understand the role security policy plays as a contributor to a more peaceful world. Do you think that Switzerland - on the basis of its strategic culture and its principle of neutrality - has a special international standing in this regard? In which areas is Switzerland particularly active?

As a neutral small state, Switzerland remains well-positioned to act as an honest broker and mediator between conflicting parties (e.g. between Russia and Georgia, or between Turkey and Armenia). As we write, Swiss experts are assisting mediation efforts in Mali or Syria, they have stepped up their efforts against the financing of terrorism, they have made genuine contributions in (nuclear) arms control, and they continue to promote democracy and peace in the West Balkans (Kosovo, Bosnia), North Africa (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia) and elsewhere (Sudan, Mali, Niger, Chad, Columbia, Nepal). In pursuing these efforts, Switzerland’s main forums for multilateral diplomacy and expert support are the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). These two organizations perfectly fit Switzerland’s main foreign policy goals, which include the prevention of conflicts, the promotion of human rights and international law, and the protection of the environment. Throughout 2014, Switzerland will chair the OSCE and thus help shape the agenda of what many consider to be the greatest regional security organization that exists “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”.