Umstrittene Schweizer Sicherheitspolitik ... - ETH Zürich

Faruk Loğoğlu
especially in Europe, in the fight against terrorism. Even today, there is
not a consistent stance in Europe regarding terrorism.
The security of a nation is no longer a purely national problem, nor
is it a challenge that any of us can meet by national means or responses
alone. In the near future, therefore, we are likely to see a deeper and more
extensive internationalization of security policies across the globe. This
will mean more cooperation among nation-states and greater responsibility
for global and regional organizations. We are likely to see – alongside
the restructuring of the world’s financial institutions in response to the
current global economic and financial crisis – a parallel process of reorganization
of the global security infrastructures. In this connection, US
President Obama’s ideas on nuclear weapons and proliferation issues,
Russian President Medvedev’s proposal for a European security pact, and
the US-Russian plans for a new arms control system are the initiatives to
watch. That is what we will be doing in Turkey, but I think it is also of
relevance to Switzerland. Like in the financial world, there will be new
rules and regulations, norms and patterns for handling security affairs.
Europe must be a leading actor in this great enterprise, with Switzerland
playing an appropriate role.
Second is the issue of what a security policy should entail. I believe
that in our age a security policy must be holistic in terms of both its
scope and the various instruments it relies on to protect and defend the
country. Security is no longer just about the defence of territory. It is the
protection of your way of life, your economy, the infrastructure, and the
institutions. All sectors and facets of modern life are under threat of one
kind or another. Hence, all means at our disposal – military, intelligence,
economic, political, social, and cultural – must have a security dimension;
a security policy should bring them together within a consistent whole.
A smart security policy mixes the hard and soft power elements and, as
stated in the 1999 Swiss Security Report, emphasizes the coordination of
military and civilian assets. A good policy requires in-built mechanisms
that constantly update the state of readiness of the country’s security and
defence capabilities. Reliable, timely and actionable intelligence is of
paramount importance in countering the threats of our times. Quality
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