German Institute for International and Security Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 is a leading German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 and the founding institution behind the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

History, Organization and Functions of the SWP

The German Institute for International and Security Affairs of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) is an independent scientific establishment that conducts practically oriented research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 on the basis of which it then advises the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...

 (the German parliament
Politics of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, based on representative democracy. The Chancellor is the head of government, while the President of Germany is the head of state, which is a ceremonial role but with substantial reserve powers.Executive power is vested in the...

) and the federal government on foreign and security policy issues
Foreign relations of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a Central European country and member of the European Union, Group of 8 and NATO . Germany is one of the world's leading industrialized countries and biggest market economy in Europe, with "windows to the East and West".Since reunification in 1990, Germany has...

. The analyses and publications produced by SWP researchers and their participation in national and international debates on key issues help to shape opinion in their respective domains.

The Council (Stiftungsrat) is SWP's highest supervisory and decision-making body. It appoints the Institute's management, approves broad outlines for its research and guarantees its independence. All important decisions are taken by a two-thirds majority of Council members, who include leading scientists, economists and other public figures as well as representatives of various federal ministries and parties in the Bundestag. The Research Advisory Board advises the Institute on all topical and interdisciplinary questions related to its research program.

SWP was set up in 1962 by private initiative in Ebenhausen
Baar-Ebenhausen
Baar-Ebenhausen is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany....

, near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, and given the legal status of a foundation. Late in 2000 its headquarters moved to Berlin, which has been SWP's new home since January 2001. Since January 1965, when the Bundestag unanimously backed the establishment of an independent research centre, the Institute has been federally funded. This support is supplemented by contributions from other research sponsors.

There are currently more than 130 staff working at SWP's German Institute for International and Security Affairs. SWP has eight Research Units employing more than 60 scholars. In 2009, SWP set up a Brussels Office.

Staff and Work Groups

SWP is divided into various thematic and regional work groups. Currently the number of permanent staff is around 50. Thematic foci of its work include European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...

, Common Foreign and Security Policy
Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...

, the Western Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

 region, Security affairs, America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

/CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, and Global affairs. Beyond these, additional project groups exist. Excluding visiting scholars and researchers on fellowships, SWP employs around 130 staff members.
All members of a working group are highly qualified academics with expertise related to the thematic focus of the work groups to which they belong. Among them are political scientists
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

, jurists, economists, sociologists, philologists, and physicists. Besides these, officers of the German military
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

 are retained as adjunct members, sharing their expertise in security-related affairs with members of staff. The Institute is headed by Volker Perthes, and its Brussels Office by Roderick Parkes. The President of the Federation of German Industries, Hans-Peter Keitel, is President of SWP's Council. SWP's outgoing Deputy President is the German Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière
Thomas de Maizière
Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière is a German politician , currently serving as the Minister of Defence in the Second Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel....

, who has been replaced by the current Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery, Ronald Pofalla
Ronald Pofalla
Ronald Pofalla is a German politician, currently serving as the Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery and a Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the Second Cabinet Merkel....

.

External links

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