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August/September 2011
August/September 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 7
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Highlight

The GCSP's International Security Programme

 

The International Security Programme has a busy year ahead. The 4th GCSP - OSCE Academy - NUPI - NESA - GCMC Seminar "Central Asia 2011", Bishkek, 31 August - 3 September 2011, begins the year. This dialogue seminar was initiated by the GCSP four years ago and is now a well-established platform for exchange and reflection on Central Asian strategic developments. We are looking forward to Kyrgyz President Dr Roza Otunbayeva opening the conference. The 2nd GCSP-China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS) Security Policy Seminar will be held at GCSP, 19-21 September 2011. This dialogue seminar further strengthens our understanding of Chinese perspectives on contemporary issues relating to peace and stability.

 

The 26th International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC) runs from October 2011 to June 2012. Around 30 government participants are expected to attend the upcoming ITC 26, with representatives from Belarus, Iraq, Nepal, Seychelles and Tanzania for the first time. Participants may also directly enrol through the Masters of Advanced Studies in International and European Security (MAS) programme. 

 

The ISP is also active in security policy analysis and undertakes a number of research projects that seek to engage in key security policy debates and so further our understanding of the dynamic contemporary strategic context. One book length manuscript that addresses the future evolution of NATO and the implications for international security with contributions from Dr Pal Dunay, Dr Gustav Lindstrom and Dr Thierry Tardy of the GCSP Faculty, as well as a range of external analysts and practitioners, was submitted to Routledge in August 2011. The book will be published in 2012 as: Graeme P. Herd and John Kriendler (eds.), NATO 2030: Understanding Future Trajectories (London, Routledge).

News

9/11: Ten Years After

Ground Zero

Ground Zero, September 2001. UN Photo, Eskinder Debebe

 

9/11 has changed the security paradigm in dramatic and substantial ways and has had important implications for all those working in this field. The GCSP is marking the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a special event and a number of timely publications that look at the far reaching impact the attacks have had on our world.

 

In this context, on 12 September 2011 the GCSP will host a Public Discussion on "Ten Years After September 11: What Impact on International Affairs?" with analysis from Fawaz Gerges (LSE) and Peter Neumann (King's College). The event will be chaired by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou (GCSP and IHEID). They will address the overall impact of 9/11, the lessons that can be draw from the past 10 years and how new momentous developments such as the Arab Spring relate to this event.   

 

The GCSP has just published a new Geneva Paper (Research Series 3) by Dr Mohamedou entitled "The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda: Lessons in Post-September 11 Transnational Terrorism". The Paper argues that Al Qaeda has become an organisationally distant and independent organisation which has given way to a new phase in the war on terror in which the threat emanates from regional franchises of Al Qaeda. Also, in GCSP Policy Paper 15, Dr Mohamedou looks in-depth at Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, an organisation which has recently reinvigorated itself with its association with Al Qaeda and poses a threat to the wider region.

 

 

Annual Report 2010

 

2010 Annual Report The GCSP's 2010 Annual Report features an entirely new design and highlights the Centre's activities by Programme. 2010 marked the GCSP's 15th anniversary year, which included a number of commemorative events to mark this important milestone.  

 

Download it here!  

 

Training

Upcoming Courses

 

28 August - 9 September 2011: 12th Swiss Peacebuilding Training Course. The aim of this course is to provide comprehensive peacebuilding training in order to prepare participants for deployments.

 

29 August - 2 September 2011: Programme Design, Monitoring and Evaluation for the Security & Development Sectors. Organized in cooperation with DCAF/ISSAT, the Small Arms Survey and the GICHD, this course provides a unique opportunity for those working in security and development fields to learn design, monitoring and evaluation concepts, processes and methods as well as to assist security and development officials and practitioners in assuming enhanced roles in the evaluation function (e.g. commissioning, designing and/or conducting evaluations).

 

12-14 September 2011: 4th Annual Senior Officers' Seminar (ASOS). This seminar offers a unique professional development and networking opportunity for Flag Officers and high-level experts on contemporary politico-military developments and current trends in multinational operations.

 

7-14 October 2011: GCSP - European Security and Defence College (ESDC) Course on Peacebuilding. This course is jointly organised by the GCSP, the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sports, and the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution. It is aimed at relevant experts and institutions of the EU, its member states, and EU candidate countries engaged in crisis prevention, crisis management, humanitarian aid and development co-operation at the strategic level.

 

24-28 October 2011: 13th Annual Middle East and North Africa Training Course on International Security: New Issues. Primarily conceived for participants from the Middle East and specialists on Middle Eastern issues, this course fosters a better understanding of the changing context of international security and the new challenges it poses for states - presented through topical issues relevant to the Middle East.

 

 

Past Courses

 

23-25 August 2011: Responding to Non-Traditional Security Threats and their Impact on Democracy-Building and Peace Professional Training Course for staff of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and a selected number of other participants from the UN system in New York. 

 

22 August - 20 October 2011: 2nd Online Course on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Disarmament. This eight-week course is designed to familiarise participants with the provisions, history and complexities of the NPT and its relationship to disarmament.

 

11 - 14 July 2011: The Summer Workshop on "The EU in the World: Towards Global Partnerships in Peace Operations" targeted to PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows working on EU security policy, with a focus on inter-institutional cooperation in the broad field of crisis management.

 

29 June - 1 July 2011: During three days, the GCSP and the Swiss Armed Forces jointly organised and held the 10th Strategic Planning and Analysis Seminar. The theme of this seminar was the Middle East and it gathered 27 participants, including analysts and specialists from the Swiss Armed Forces and Foreign Ministry. Analysts from seven other countries also took part in this seminar.

 

Events

Upcoming Events   

 

31 August - 3 September 2011: 4th GCSP-OSCE Academy-NUPI-NESA-GCMC Seminar "Central Asia 2011" will be run in Bishkek, 31 August - 3 September. This dialogue seminar was initiated by the GCSP in partnership with the OSCE Academy, Bishkek, four years ago and is now a well-established platform for exchange and reflection on Central Asian strategic developments.  

 

8-10 September 2011: The 34th IIHL Round Table on current issues of International Humanitarian Law "International Humanitarian Law and New Weapon Technologies" will be held in Sanremo, Italy, from 8 to 10 September 2011.

  

12 September 2011: Public Discussion "Ten Years After September 11: What Impact on International Affairs?" with Professor Fawaz Gerges, Dr Peter Neumann and chaired by Dr Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou. For more information, please contact Ms �sa Granados ([email protected]).  

 

18-23 September 2011: The 2nd CIISS-GCSP Security Policy Seminar will take place at the GCSP from 18 to 23 September. A delegation of six participants, lead by Major General (ret.) Huang Baifu, CIISS Vice Chairman, will travel to Geneva. In addition to the seminar, the delegation will visit international organisations and the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China. One day will be organised in Bern at the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).

 

29 September 2011: NPT Action Plan Seminar: As a run-up to the 2012 Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of the 2015 Review Conference, the Second NPT Action Plan Seminar will take place on 29 September 2011, and will focus on "Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons".  Two background papers - a monitoring report and an assessment paper - reviewing the implementation of the Action Plan will be presented. The Geneva disarmament community, as well as representatives from international organisations, civil society and relevant industry will take part in the discussion.

 

 

Past Events

 

8 July 2011: The GCSP hosted a publication launch in partnership with the Sanremo International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL). Two new books published by the Sanremo Institute were presented: "Global Violence: Consequences and Responses" and "Flujos Migratorios de Am�rica Latina/Flussi Migratori dall'America Latina". 

  

4-7 July 2011: The GCSP ran the 3rd Annual Senior Officers' Security and Law Conference bringing together Flag Officers, their senior civilian and police counterparts and senior legal and operational advisers to discuss legal challenges and opportunities presented by the modern strategic environment. The aim of the conference was to offer participants a neutral and agenda-free environment to engage with their peers and with the experienced specialists and experts brought in to lead the discussions.

   

4 July 2011: The GCSP organised a Public Discussion on "Kyrgyzstan between ethnic challenges and the construction of democracy" to focus on the outcomes of the report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Events in Southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, and prospects for stability in Kyrgyzstan towards and beyond the forthcoming presidential election. 

 

30 June 2011: NPT Action Plan Seminar on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy is part of a multi-year project jointly organised by the GCSP, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and Reaching Critical Will (a programme of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom), supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).

 

27 June 2011: The GCSP co-organised a seminar on "Preventing and Responding to Genocide and Mass Atrocities" from 27 to 28 June 2011, in partnership with the Office of the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, United Nations, New York. 

 

27 June 2011: The GCSP together with CIC (Center on International Cooperation, New York University) hosted a book launch on the "Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2011". 

 

 

Visits 

 

From left to right: Mr Alan DOSS, GCSP Visiting Fellow and Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr Kassym-Jomart TOKAYEV, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Ambassador Fred TANNER, GCSP Director, Ms Charlotte L. WARAKAULLE, Chief of the Political Affairs, External Relations and Inter-Agency Affairs Section in the Office of the Director-General at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Dr Khalid KOSER, GCSP Academic Dean and Head of the New Issues in Security Programme, Mr Alain GUIDETTI, GCSP Diplomat-in-Residence, and Ms Emily MUNRO, GCSP Governance and Partnership Manager. The GCSP was honored to welcome Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva to the GCSP on 10 August 2011. This was the first meeting between Mr Tokayev and the GCSP Director, Ambassador Fred Tanner, since Mr Tokayev took office in May of this year.

 

The Director-General, together with Ms Charlotte L. Warakaulle (Office of the Director-General), were given a briefing on the GCSP activities, including the Centre's cooperation with the United Nations and a good discussion followed on areas where we may strengthen our cooperation.

 

The GCSP looks forward to further fruitful contacts with the United Nations Office at Geneva and joint events.  

 

Research and Publications 

New Publications

 

The GCSP is proud to announce the following new publications:

 

Geneva Paper 

 

The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda: Lessons in Post-September 11 Transnational Terrorism The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda: Lessons in Post-September 11 Transnational Terrorism
Geneva Paper - Research Series N�3
by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou 

 

Al Qaeda rose and fell between 1989 and 2011. Ten years after it conducted its most lethal operation in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, it had mutated into a movement that no longer resembled what it started as. From a hierarchical and centralised group, led by the bicephalous leadership of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Dhawahiri, it had become a regionalised and decentralised organisation with several competing leaders following the death of Bin Laden in May 2011.

 

The Research Series offers innovative analyses, case studies, policy prescriptions, and critiques, to encourage discussion in International Geneva and beyond.

 

 

Policy Papers 

 

Policy Papers Policy Paper N�19: "Improving United Nations Intelligence: Lessons from the Field"

by Melanie Ramjou� 

 

Policy Paper N�18: "Un Moyen-Orient exempt d'armes de destruction massive: pour une approche globale et graduelle"

by Marc Finaud 

 

Policy Paper N�18: "A Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction: For a Comprehensive and Incremental Approach"

by Marc Finaud 

 

Policy Paper N�17: "After the Fall: Leaders, Leadership and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding"

by Alan Doss

 

Policy Paper N�16: "The CSDP after Lisbon: Lost Opportunities or Changed Interests?"

by Antti Kaski 

 

 

All Policy Papers and Geneva Papers are available for download on the GCSP website. If you would like a hardcopy of a Geneva Paper, please contact us at [email protected].  

 

Faculty Members

New Arrivals

Brigadier General (Retd) Philippe Meyer Brigadier General (Retd) Philippe Meyer
Senior Advisor to the Director

Testimonial

"I am pleased to join the GCSP, whose expertise over all issues related to security, geopolitics and civil-military relations is internationally recognized. I will strive, relying on the stimulating group of colleagues working here and on my experience in military and diplomatic affairs, to bring a stone to this already solid edifice and to promote a strong relationship between the Centre and the French Armed Forces". 

- Philippe Meyer 



Colonel (GS) Bruno Smets Colonel (GS) Bruno Smets
Faculty Member, seconded from the Belgian Government

Testimonial

"I am delighted to be appointed to the GCSP as a Faculty Member, seconded from the Belgian Government. For the first time in my thirty-year military career, I have the extraordinary opportunity to fulfil both my vocation (teaching) and my passion (international relations), supported by very professional colleagues. I also had the privilege to participate in the GCSP's 21st International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC) in 2006-07. For me, the ITC led directly to a fundamental re-orientation of my officer's career in security and defence policy. I can assert that my ITC expertise, combined with the Master in Advanced Studies in International and European Security from the European Institute of the Geneva University, gave me all the skills necessary for my daily work as senior adviser of the highest civilian and military authorities within the Belgian Defence Department. This academic year in Geneva was a fruitful investment for my personal career but above all for the Belgian Defence. Now, it is my turn to transfer my modest expertise to provide the GCSP course participants with the necessary tools to prepare them for future challenges in their professional advancement. What a beautiful and exciting challenge!"  

- Bruno Smets