Publications

In 2018, Switzerland released its second national cybersecurity strategy. To put the Swiss approach into perspective, this CSS study compares the strategies, policies and governmental structures of Ge...chevron_right

This edition of the RAD examines Russia’s relations with the three countries of the South Caucasus. First, Alexander Iskandaryan examines the impact of the Velvet Revolution on Armenia’s relationships with Russia and the West. Second, Murad Ismayilov argues that both macro- and micro-level developments are leading the Azerbaijani elite to shift their focus away from the West and more towards an emerging strategic accord with Moscow. Third, Michael Cecire assesses Georgia’s efforts to engage in external balancing against Russia to mitigate its relative weakness and maximize autonomy.chevron_right

According to a growing consensus, globalization and advances in communication are promoting the diffusion of defense-industrial capabilities, thus eroding the established position of Western countries. However, Andrea Gilli and Mauro Gilli contend that the empirical evidence suggests that even with newly available opportunities, including cyber espionage, the most advanced weapon systems remain very difficult to copy and replicate.chevron_right

Understanding the latest election results in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) requires an unprejudiced analysis of the political system. Political power in the DRC is negotiated through complex networks that mix formal and informal notions of statehood. Actors’ relations to each other can quickly shift between symbiosis and conflict, which fosters violence, corruption and underdevelopment.chevron_right

In this new CSS Policy Perspective, Trump’s Missile Defense: Challenges for Europe, Oliver Thränert writes that the recently released US Missile Defense Review is problematic. This is because it argues that missile defenses should be directed against Russia and China in regional contingencies and that they should be better integrated with offensive attack operations. Also worrisome, Thränert contends, is the lack of arms control initiatives. In response, he concludes, European NATO members should continue to support missile defenses, while also stressing the importance of arms control.chevron_right

This issue of the CAD focuses on the domestic dimension of the 2018 Armenian revolution. More specifically, Mikayel Zolyan first explains what made the Armenian revolution possible, arguing that a key factor was how the political regime gravitated towards authoritarian rule in a way that deprived it of the flexibility necessary for survival. Anahit Shirinyan then looks at how the revolution exposed the extent to which Armenia’s political parties had lost touch with the public and explores the country’s new political party system.chevron_right

This RAD edition considers the political implications of the recent establishment of an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, independent from the Moscow Patriarchate. Firstly, Alexander Ponomariov addresses how the dispute between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Moscow Patriarchate over Orthodoxy in Ukraine is reshaping religious and political boundaries and identities. Secondly, Regina Elsner examines the political entanglements and power struggles at play in the efforts to unify Orthodoxy in Ukraine and their potential influence on the relationships between the country’s different Orthodox churches in the years ahead.chevron_right

In this publication, Angela Ullmann and Seng Mai Aung highlight the lessons learned and good practices from a selected number of peacebuilding approaches to interfaith tensions in Myanmar following the outbreak of violence in the country in 2012. In particular, our authors draw insights from three case studies by addressing five questions frequently asked by peacebuilders facing conflicts with religious dimensions: 1) how does religion drive conflict; 2) how do we address religion in conflict; 3) how do we work on religion in conflict without making it worse, and more.chevron_right

In this issue of the RAD, Andrei Kalachinsky first considers the controversy surrounding the September 2018 gubernatorial elections in Primorsky Krai, in which a Kremlin-backed candidate won a rerun vote after the annulment of the original election. Shiau-shyang Liou then examines the contested issue of Chinese immigrant labor in the Russian Far East. He argues that while Russia has relaxed restrictions on Chinese immigration in response to labor shortages, increasing incomes and emerging labor shortfalls in China may still lead to declining numbers of Chinese immigrant workers in the years ahead.chevron_right

This RAD issue examines Russian public narratives about foreign policy. More specifically, Sarah Oates and Sean Steiner first decode Russia’s strategic narrative, noting that while its roots are in Soviet propaganda, its contemporary storylines are more organic and dynamic. Tina Burrett then compares coverage of China and the US on Russian TV news, highlighting a shift in 2004, after which China has been depicted more positively and the US more negatively. Finally, Tatiana Dubrovskaya investigates how government and opposition media have represented the sanctions regime imposed on Russia in recent years.chevron_right

Vom 4. bis zum 6. Juni 2018 trafen sich Behördenvertreterinnen und -vertreter aus den Bereichen Sicherheitspolitik und Bevölkerungsschutz zum vierten trilateralen Workshop D-A-CH Schutz Kritischer Infrastrukturen (SKI/KRITIS). Der diesjährige Workshop wurde durch das deutsche Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK) an dessen Amtssitz in Bonn organisiert und gemeinsam mit dem österreichischen Bundeskanzleramt, dem österreichischen Bundesministerium für Inneres (BM.I), dem schweizerischen Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz (BABS) und dem Center for Security Studies (CSS) der ETH Zürich durchgeführt. Ziel des Workshops war es, die Diskussion zu aktuellen Ansätzen und Herausforderungen beim Schutz Kritischer Infrastrukturen zu fördern und von den unterschiedlichen Erfahrungen in den drei Ländern zu profitieren. Zudem diente der Workshop dazu, den Expertenaustausch hinsichtlich internationaler Entwicklungen und grenzüberschreitender Herausforderungen fortzuführen.chevron_right

Allard Duursma contends that mediated peace agreements in civil wars often fail to bring about lasting peace, largely as a result of the use of pressure. To help address the problem, Duursma recasts how we think about such pressure by introducing the notion of smart pressure, which recommends that 1) mediators should ensure that conflict parties largely own peace processes; 2) mediators should only apply pressure when the conflict parties can live with the endpoint of its use; and 3) chief mediators should coordinate and manage pressure from external third parties.chevron_right

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.chevron_right

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.chevron_right

This edition considers the politics of culture in contemporary Russia. Firstly, Ulrich Schmid focuses on the reactions to the house arrest of acclaimed director Kirill Serebrennikov, arguing that the affair aptly illustrates the volatility of Russian cultural politics over the last ten years. Secondly, Peter Rollberg considers the contested legacy of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in Russia, outlining how Solzhenitsyn has become a useful authority legitimizing Putin’s statist agenda. Thirdly, Andrey Makarychev notes that, from a cultural standpoint, the strong Russian roots of the Estonian city of Narva represent an opportunity for, rather than a threat to the efforts aimed at Europeanization. This process, he suggests, provides a platform for Russian artists to perform on a European stage and reach an international audience.chevron_right