2018

At the beginning of the year, we look back at some of the core subjects covered by our think tank and researchers in 2018. The program includes publications on Swiss security policy, European security, armament policies and arms control, cybersecurity, mediation, critical infrastructure protection and more.

An important point of contention between Russia and the West is the alleged Western “promise” in 1990 not to expand NATO further east. Today, this controversy can largely be answered on the basis of recently declassified archival documents. Western guarantees in February 1990 referred only to the GDR; but the West deceived Gorbachev at the same time with vague promises of an inclusive European security order.

This article by Oliver Thränert aims at explaining why nuclear arms control has been stopped after the end of the Cold War and argues in favor of the revival of nuclear arms control as a strategic concept. Europe is especially called upon in taking the initiative towards a new arms control discourse.  

In January 2019, Switzerland will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC). The FSC is a little-known, integral decision-making body of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Every week in Vienna, the FSC discusses and negotiates measures to strengthen security in Europe.

In Africa, the UN not only increasingly collaborates with the African Union and other African regional organizations in peacekeeping operations, but often also the European Union. These inter-organizational peacekeeping arrangements enable the UN to share the burden for peacekeeping in Africa. However, Somalia and Mali illustrate that they face political and operational challenges.

On 16 November 2018, the CSS held a conference on “Arms Procurement in Europe: Current Trends and Implications for Switzerland.” In three panels, the participants discussed the procurement of major military systems, key technologies and industrial policy, and the upcoming arms procurements in Switzerland.

CSS Researcher Fabien Merz participated in the “Jugendsession 2018” as an expert on counter-terrorism in Switzerland. Not only was he able to pass on his knowledge to the young participants, but also take with him many new and thought-provoking ideas.

The CSS’ newly released 2018 Bulletin on Swiss Security Policy features an interview with Chief of the Armed Forces Philippe Rebord along with an assortment of articles on the engagement of Switzerland in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, predictive policing in Switzerland, Cybersecurity in Israel, and the role of religion and conflict in Swiss peace policy.

Smart cities need smart critical infrastructure protection. This means trusting technology to play a more substantial role in securing infrastructure for the resilient provision of critical services. Adapting to a future that includes artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things is a necessity, not a choice.

Despite moderate increases in their defense budgets, for most European states, the need to modernize main weapon systems and acquire future-proof high technology capabilities is a burden that continues to stretch their fiscal possibilities to the utmost. While forward-looking armaments policies cannot eliminate these deficits, they can lay the groundwork for tackling them successfully.