Net-Centric Security
Transnational and asymmetric security risks question the traditional assumptions underlying our security institutions by blurring the distinction between foreign and domestic security and between war and peace. To put it simply: While the challenges we face are network centric, our policies remain caught in organizational stovepipes, bureaucratic rivalries, and inadequate processes and instruments.

There is thus an increased need for net-centric security as a new paradigm for security governance in the 21st century. Net-centric security aims at improving cooperation between all actors of the security sector and their relevant industrial and non-governmental partners. Net-centric security has a profound impact on doctrine, organization, training, leadership, material and structure/systems of military and civilian security forces. New modes of interaction with the industry as well as the science and technology community and non-governmental actors are key to identify new opportunities to strengthen and expand existing capabilities and to remedy shortfalls. Doctrinal and technological advances will increase participation in decision-making and implementation beyond traditional confines.

In order to analyze these challenges and propose recommendations for possible solutions Ralph Thiele and Heiko Borchert have launched "Net-Centric Security", a new series of books (available in German only). Each book is devoted to a specific topic and provides insights from military and security experts, industrial leaders, political decision-makers and researchers.

For more information, please visit www.vernetzte-sicherheit.net (in German only).

Europe's Security Architecture
With their important involvement in the Balkans, international organizations such as the UN, the OSCE, NATO, the WEU, and the EU have made their way into daily news. The way these organizations interact has come under closer public scrutiny. Our research therefore concentrates on the following aspects:

• What are the central pillars of Europe's security architecture in the 21st century?
• In what way have the structures and tasks of Europe's security organizations changed since the end of the Cold War (see map)?
• How can we explain these changes, and what are the consequences for the future?
• What must be done in order to improve cooperation among Europe's security organizations?
• How can the EU's Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) strengthen Europe's security architecture?
• What is the role of multinational forces in an integrated Europe, and what problems need to be addressed in order to facilitate multinational military cooperation?

Swiss Security and Defense Policy
With the end of the Cold War, the European security landscape has undergone fundamental changes: stability is the norm, and cooperation has become the standard procedure, while instability and autonomous actions are exceptions. This demands the complete redesign of Switzerland's security and defense policy. Two questions are of special interest:

• How will the change in Europe's security architecture affect Switzerland's security and defense policy?
• Can Switzerland still afford to stand aside or does the country need to joint the Euro-Atlantic organizations?
• What will be the impact of Europe's Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) on Switzerland's security policy and defense planning?