The Geneva Center for Security Policy is dedicated to issues of peace and security. This international foundation, created at the initiative of the Swiss government in 1995, uses training, analysis and dialogue to promote international peace and security. Its director since 2013, Swiss Ambassador Christian Dussey, explains the particularities of the GCSP.
Author : Catherine Fiankan-Bokonga
What was the background to the idea of creating the Center?
When US President Ronald Reagan and USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met in Geneva in November 1985, signalling a period of détente between the great powers, Switzerland saw an opportunity for its foreign and security policy. Not belonging to any bloc, it wished to make its contribution within the framework of its traditional foreign policy of good offices and mediation.
At the time, however, the Confederation was faced with a lack of expertise in security policy, disarmament and arms control, both within its Diplomatic Corps and within the Federal Military Department (Ministry of Defense). This led to the idea of a special, fast-track training course to make up for this shortfall and seize the opportunity it presented.
The Federal Military Department decided to create and finance an eight-month course at the Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales (IHEI), as part of the strategic studies program, aimed at a small group of Swiss diplomats and officers to acquire expertise in security policy. The originality of the course has been a great success.
On the one hand, the course was aimed at practitioners, who benefited from the expertise and experience of a diverse mix of lecturers including university professors, experts from research centers and high-level practitioners from the White House, the Kremlin and crisis zones.
Moreover, unlike university courses which are generally spread over a semester, each theme or issue dealt with was concentrated in one or two weeks. The first three editions of the course were aimed exclusively at Swiss participants. Given the success of this course, which also met the needs of other governments, the course was opened up to foreign participants, mainly from Western Europe.
The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) marks a turning point
From this point onwards, training was open to executives from the former Warsaw Pact countries. Young diplomats and officers, who had previously faced each other on either side of the Berlin Wall, now rubbed shoulders in the same classroom. One of them is the current Polish Foreign Minister.
The 90s were also a time of change.
At that time, Switzerland was confronted with major developments in security policy, both in Europe and Africa, and at home. On the one hand, war was raging in the Balkans (Bosnia, Serbia, the break-up of Yugoslavia), and numerous conflicts were breaking out in the Great Lakes region of Africa. On June 12, 1994, the proposal by the Federal Council and Parliament to create a contingent of Swiss peacekeepers was rejected by a majority of the population.
At the same time, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was seeking a new mission following the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are fundamentally transforming their foreign and security policies. In response to these developments, NATO created the Partnership for Peace in 1994 to provide a framework and instruments for cooperation in building trusting relations in Europe. Switzerland joined in December 1996. It decided to contribute by offering training courses.
GCSP is in the business of preparation
It was at this point that the GCSP was born.
A private Foundation, financed mainly by the Swiss Confederation, was created. To give it international stature, the Foundation Board was opened up to other countries. At the outset, 11 countries were represented. Today, 51 states, including all the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have joined the Board.
What is the GCSP's mandate?
The GCSP concentrates its activities in four areas: the training of executives from all backgrounds with an interest in international security and peace, the promotion of dialogue on peace and security issues, the hosting of experts within its Fellowship program, and the analysis of original and relevant solutions to international security challenges.
How many courses do you run?
In 2017, we will be running over 80 training courses.
How many guest speakers do you have?
We have over 800 external speakers every year. They represent all the international players: governments, Swiss and foreign universities, international research centers, the media, the private sector and associations.
And participants?
We welcome around 1,100 participants a year, a figure that has doubled in the last two years.
And how many people have been trained since 1995?
The number of our alumni has just passed the 6,000 mark. They come from 165 countries. They hold leading positions in sectors as varied as diplomacy, the armed forces, the media, the private and voluntary sectors, sustainable development, finance and the civil service.
The Centre is also present in the field.
Yes, we do. 80% of our courses are given in Geneva, but customized training courses are also organized in Dakar, Addis Ababa, Amman, Sarajevo, and recently in Bangui, Colombo, Bangkok, Tbilisi and New York.
Are courses offered in different languages?
The vast majority of our courses are given in English. Increasingly, we are looking to run our courses in the language of the beneficiary or the host country/organization, to ensure maximum impact on participants.
What does the ideal classroom look like?
The Center is evolving. In the past, our participants were mainly from government circles (diplomats, military personnel, members of presidential or prime ministerial cabinets). Today, we welcome representatives from all international players: international organizations, NGOs, foundations, private sector companies, the media, etc. It is now commonplace for an NGO representative, such as Amnesty International, to sit in a classroom alongside an official from a Ministry of Defense, an expert from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a Colonel from the US Air Force and a representative from a multinational company...
So that's your aim?
We want to break down silos and build bridges between the different fields and players involved in international relations. The diplomatic academies of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the War Colleges or the Defense Colleges are brimming with knowledge, expertise, tools and instruments that could be very useful to the private sector, international organizations or NGOs. A Diplomatic Academy, for example, can provide experience in international negotiation or geopolitical analysis. War schools and defense colleges offer considerable experience in leadership, strategy and crisis management.... However, these training courses are not, or hardly ever, open to the private sector, international organizations or NGOs. And conversely, if you wish to access courses at the Grandes Ecoles de Commerce, such as IMD or INSEAD, their entrance fees are so high as to exclude representatives of NGOs or governments.
What's your proposition?
Evolving in a complex and uncertain world consequently requires courage, creativity and innovative leadership based on anticipation, great adaptability and agility in the ability to learn. GCSP's ambition is to support managers in their personal development, by updating their knowledge, deepening their skills and giving them a mindset adapted to contemporary challenges. To achieve this, we combine the experience and expertise of a community of top-level professionals.
How much do the courses cost?
The three traditional GCSP courses (ranging from 2 to 8 months) are offered free of charge by the Swiss Confederation as a contribution to international peace and security. These courses are a great success. We accept one in four candidates.
You've decided to open up access to everyone.
Over the past three years, we have more than doubled our range of training courses, while demand for tailor-made courses has also grown rapidly. We have seen a growing need for access to strategic or geopolitical skills, to understand the world, to face new challenges and to have the tools to anticipate and manage them. This is why we have opened up our courses to the public on a package basis.
We prepare and transform individuals and organizations to seize opportunities
Did your move to the Maison de la Paix premises in 2014 have any impact?
The move forced us to rethink our activities. Developments in technology have turned traditional teaching on its head. We have therefore invested heavily in pedagogical innovation, to increase the added value for participants and the impact of our training courses. We have also "injected" an entrepreneurial spirit into the Foundation. This has enabled us to create new services that are more in line with our beneficiaries' expectations.
Is the transparent, light-filled architecture inspiring?
It's a place where the spirit, atmosphere and energy are very positive. This building has also enabled us to create a fourth activity. This is the Global Fellowship. It offers people in career transition the opportunity to spend a few months at the Center, attending our training courses or workshops to help them bounce back. Robert Glaser, for example, who spent more than seven years as Secretary General of CARE International, was Executive-in-Residence at GCSP before being appointed UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction.
What's so special about this activity?
This platform, located on the top floor of the GCSP, which we have named the Creative spark, has also become a veritable incubator for innovative projects and start-ups. It brings us great diversity. This intersection of different professions, nationalities and expertise fosters creativity and innovation. It gives our Fellows the opportunity to participate in the Foundation's mission and to benefit from our training courses, which in turn will enable them to bounce back professionally or make a positive impact by launching a new project.
How many themes do you currently cover?
We deal with around twenty themes relating to international peace and security issues. They vary according to requests from members of the Foundation Board, or depending on which themes are gaining in importance. For example, we have just launched new projects on Artificial Intelligence, the prevention of violent extremism, or combining media and art to promote Peace. We were among the first to get involved in cyber-security several years ago.
Which program is the most successful?
The leadership program. We have partnered with the Center for Creative Leadership, one of the world leaders in leadership training. By combining our expertise in peace, security and geopolitics with their leadership experience, we are responding to a growing need. We have added a leadership component to each of our courses.
What direction would you like the Center to take?
In all our activities, we focus on three areas: fostering collaboration, both within and between institutions; encouraging the creativity of our participants to increase their agility in the face of current and future challenges; and finally, building trust by supporting dialogue between adversaries and opponents, based on the principles of impartiality and inclusion.
Cooperation GCSP - China
Cooperation between the GCSP and China began in the late 2000s with various contacts and ad hoc meetings between the Centre, various Chinese Think Tanks and Academies, before adopting a more structured format towards the end of 2010 as part of the promotion of its policy in the fields of education and dialogue.
From this point onwards, the GCSP began to welcome Chinese students on a regular basis to attend its basic international security training courses, and formalized its cooperation with the China Institute of International Strategic Studies (CIISS) through a memorandum of understanding institutionalizing annual joint seminars on all issues related to international security. In addition, the GCSP has engaged with other Chinese think tanks on a more ad hoc basis, such as the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), as well as academies such as Beida University and Renmin University. In addition, cooperation with China extends to international events, such as GCSP participation in the Xiangshan Forum on International Security, an annual conference in Beijing, and CIISS participation in the Zermatt Round Table, a Swiss international conference on security in Northeast Asia and the Pacific. Various Chinese delegations visit the Center every year. China has been a member of the GCSP Foundation Board since 2010.
What have you gained from your time at GCSP?
It enabled me to measure the power of education and continuous training on personal and organizational transformation. It also taught me the great humility we need to maintain in the face of other people's knowledge. And by being constantly confronted with participants from conflict zones, whether they be refugees, victims or combatants, it has enabled me to highlight every day the privilege of being born in a country at peace, and the importance of being grateful for it.