GCSP

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, in cooperation with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, as a Swiss contribution to Partnership for Peace (PfP).

Activities

The GCSP is engaged in four areas of activities:

- Training in international peace and security, with a special focus on the globalising security environment; - Research; - Conferences; and - Dialogue.

The GCSP's core activity is the provision of expert training in comprehensive international peace and security policy for mid-career diplomats, military officers, and civil servants from foreign, defence, and other relevant ministries, as well as from international organisations. Participants in GCSP courses come from countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, and beyond, including South and East Asia and Africa. In addition to its three principal courses (each lasting from three to nine months) offered in Geneva, the GCSP also offers tailor-made courses in Geneva, Brussels, New York, and other locations. Alumni from GCSP courses remain engaged in the Centre's activities.

GCSP faculty and senior staff, both academics and practitioners, come from a wide range of countries, disciplines, and interests, covering a broad spectrum of the security-policy arena. They write extensively in GCSP publications, internationally reputed peer-reviewed journals, and other publications. In addition, they contribute regularly to the policy and academic debates on key security issues. Moreover, the GCSP convenes conferences, workshops, and discussions to promote dialogue on peace and security issues. Some of the latter activities aim to facilitate discreet dialogue in post-conflict situations.Thematic Focus

The GCSP's activities focus on the following thematic areas:

- Challenges to Peace and Security, including WMD proliferation, terrorism, threats to human security, and migration; - Global and Regional Issues, Institutions, including Trans-Atlantic relations, the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean region, the Russian Federation and the CIS, South-eastern Europe, and South and East Asia; the UN, the EU, NATO, the OSCE, the AU, and ASEAN; - Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, including conflict analysis, peace operations, peacebuilding, transition and democratisation, and sexual violence and trafficking in human beings during conflict; and - Geopolitical Implications of Globalisation2, including political, economic, social, security, and environmental impact and responses.

Governance and Funding

The GCSP's governing body is the Foundation Council3, which consists of representatives of 35 member states and the Geneva Canton. GCSP management is guided on key policy issues by an international Advisory Board4, which includes prominent personalities with experience in the security field and in international organisations, government, civil society, and academia.

The Swiss government is the principal contributor to the GCSP's budget. Other Foundation Council members, partner states, and institutions also support the GCSP by seconding faculty, funding scholarships, and contributing to other aspects of the Centre's activities.

References

- The Geneva Center for Security Policy website

External links

- Geneva Center for Security Policy website - http://www.gcsp.ch- UN Office in Geneva - http://www.unog.ch/- Official NATO site - http://www.nato.int/- Official EU site - http://europa.eu.int/- The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - http://www.osce.org