Publications

The three articles in this edition of the RAD focus on the North Caucasus. The first article looks at ethnicity and elite mobility, highlighting how the upward mobility of non-Russian regional heads i...chevron_right

This issue of the CAD first focuses on 1) how unofficial ‘under-the-table out-of-pocket payments’ contribute to unequal access to healthcare services in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and 2) why the...chevron_right

This edition of the RAD first analyses the current state of Russia-Ukraine gas trade and provides an outlook for the future, noting how this area of commerce has been unable to disentangle itself from...chevron_right

Recent cyber defense studies has shown that there is a qualitative increase in the numbers of cyber-competent actors, as well as an increased technical sophistication of malicious digital tools they are using and the vectors they exploit. These three areas constitute the “who”, “what” and “how” of cyber operations. What is missing from much of these analyses is the “when” question: in which specific geopolitical contexts are cyber operations being deployed. This Trend Analysis examines a series of high-profile cyber incidents with a view to answering this question. In doing so, it identifies five specific geo- and socio-political contexts in which cyber operations play an important role. These are open international conflict, internal civil war, economic and political tensions between states, and strategic rivalry. The Trend Analysis also shows that there are no specific combinations of actor, vector tool or context. This makes it very difficult for policymakers and practitioners to predict the occurrence or severity of a cyber operation.chevron_right

This Risk and Resilience Report uses Zürich as a case study to examine how changing demographic, economic and cultural conditions affect social vulnerability to hazards in generally affluent societies...chevron_right

In December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first document to lay out the fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights...chevron_right

Promoting peaceful ways of addressing violent political conflict with religious dimensions is an integral part of contemporary Swiss political culture and peace policy. But what key elements and princ...chevron_right

In 2014, the world discovered that a North Korean hacker group had illegally accessed Sony Entertainment Pictures’ network, deleted content from several computers and leaked stolen information on the internet. In 2017, ransomware named WannaCry was found to have affected more than 200,000 computers across the world. This was also attributed to North Korean actors. On the face of things, North Korea appears to be disconnected from much of the internet. The reality is, however that it has extensive cyber capabilities. These capabilities are an additional tool in Pyongyang’s asymmetric strategy, a strategy derived from its development of nuclear weapons. North Korea has been developing its cyber capabilities in parallel to its nuclear weapons program. The latter has brought a great deal of international attention to North Korea but has also resulted in several rounds of international sanctions. However, the advantage to North Korea of the use of its cyber capabilities is that it may attract international attention but with a reduced risk of sanctions. Another important difference between the North Korean cyber and nuclear programs is that Pyongyang also uses its cyber capabilities for financial gain. Hacker groups associated with the North Korean government have targeted financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate revenue for the regime.chevron_right

Attention has understandably been focused on jihadi actors in Libya and Tunisia. However, this CSS study contends that other Islamic actors also deserve greater scrutiny given the role they could play...chevron_right

Die Jahresstudie «Sicherheit» dient der Ermittlung langfristiger Trends in der aussen-, sicherheits- und verteidigungspolitischen Meinungsbildung in der Schweiz. Sie basiert auf im Jahresrhythmus durchgeführten repräsentativen Befragungen. Neben langjährigen Standardfragen werden jährlich ergänzende Themen aufgegriffen: Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wurde 2018 der Kommunikation durch die Armee, eines möglichen obligatorischen Orientierungstags für Frauen und der Terrorismusbekämpfung geschenkt.chevron_right

This edition looks at the political economic picture in Russia. Anders Åslund provides an overview of the current state of the Russian economy, outlining how and why economic growth has remained limited to 1.5–2.0%, in spite of nearly stellar macroeconomic policy. We also have visual representations of the main macroeconomic indicators of the Russian economy, covering the real economy, finances and socio-economic factors.chevron_right

This edition of the RAD first examines how President Putin’s Russia seeks to maintain good relations with multiple actors in the Middle East that consider one another as adversaries, and the limits to this policy...chevron_right

Some economic actors misunderstand the term “cyber sovereignty” as a form of autonomy in cyberspace. This Trend Analysis argues that using the term “cyber sovereignty” in the same way as “autonomy” is a misnomer. To do this, the analysis explores the definition and the use of the term “cyber sovereignty”. It examines national cybersecurity strategies to see how states use the term. The results show that, with the exception of France, states rarely refer to this concept. This is due to the French bottom-up approach to sovereignty. The Trend Analysis looks then at the academic debate on cyber sovereignty and finds that it focuses on the applicability of principles of sovereignty in cyberspace. Finally, the research examines the debate on sovereignty in other domains: sea, air, and space. This showed that each domain went through discussions on the applicability of sovereignty, before the normalization of practices in international treaties.chevron_right

The Arab Spring has been a disappointment to many within and outside the Middle East and North Africa region. Only Tunisia, the country where it all began, has been able to ride out the transition fro...chevron_right

How have recent jihadist terrorist attacks in Western Europe and the attendant debate over countermeasures affected Swiss attitudes towards Islam?...chevron_right