German Institute for International and Security Affairs

The Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin is a leading German think tank 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 on the basis of which it then advises the Bundestag (the German parliament) and the federal government on foreign and security policy issues. 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 Board of Trustees (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 Board of Trustee 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, near Munich, 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.

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, EU foreign policy, the Western Balkan region, Security affairs, America, Russia/CIS, Middle East and Africa, Asia, 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, jurists, economists, sociologists, philologists, and physicists. Besides these, officers of the German military are retained as adjunct members, sharing their expertise in security-related affairs with members of staff.

WP Council

President:

* Ulrich Hartmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, E.ON AG

Deputy Presidents:

* Dr. Thomas de Maizière, Chief-of-Staff, Federal Chancellery
* Hans-Ulrich Klose, Member of the German Bundestag, Deputy Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag

Members:

* Dr. Karl-Ernst Brauner, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
* Peter-Heinrich Carstens, General ret.
* Dr. Markus Ederer, Head of Planning Staff, Foreign Office
* Dr. Peter Eickenboom, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence
* Dr.Wolfgang Gerhardt, Member of the German Bundestag
* Prof. Dr. Peter Gruss, President, Max Planck Society
* Luca Giuliani, Rector, Social Science Research Center Berlin
* Dr. Christoph Heusgen, Federal Chancellery
* Dr. Eckart von Klaeden, Member of the German Bundestag
* Prof. Dr. Hanns W. Maull, Trier University
* Markus Meckel, Member of the German Bundestag
* Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek, President, Helmholtz Association
* Kerstin Müller, Member of the German Bundestag
* Dr. Michael Otto, CEO, Otto-Versand
* Prof. Dr. Norman Paech, Member of the German Bundestag
* Dr. Carsten Pillath, Federal Ministry of Finance
* Dr. Susanna Schmidt, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
* Erich Stather, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
* Prof. Dr. h.c. Horst Teltschik

Board:

* Dr. Volker Perthes (Chairman)
* Prof. Dr. Michael Kreile, Berlin
* Prof. Dr. Ursula Lehmkuhl, Berlin

Research Advisory Board

President:
* Prof. Dr. Hanns W. Maull, University of Trier

Members:
* Prof. Dr. Marie-Janine Calic, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich
* Prof. Michael Hebgen, University of Heidelberg
* Prof. Dr. Gudrun Krämer, Free University Berlin
* Prof. Dr. Jürgen Krause, Informationszentrum Sozialwissenschaften, Bonn
* Prof. Dr. Eckhard P.W. Minx, DaimlerChrysler Corp., Berlin
* Prof. Dr. Antonius Nijhuis, Duitsland Instituut, Amsterdam
* Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse, Free University Berlin
* Prof. Dr. Stephen F. Szabo, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
* Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wessels, Universität zu Köln

External links

* [http://www.swp-berlin.org Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)]
* [http://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/texte/7262-06.pdf Stellungnahme des Wissenschaftsrates zum Deutschen Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin] (PDF)
* [http://www.thinktankdirectory.org/directory/swp.shtml SWP auf thinktankdirectory.org]