The business of security and the transformation of the state

The field of security policy seems to have undergone dramatic changes in the last decades. Under the broad umbrella of a turn to security governance, one can observe trends of an internationalization and privatization of security. Of these trends, one seems to stand out, that is the increasing reliance of states on private business actors in the provision of security. How do theses trends affect the state? While some believe that the provision of security by private agents is unproblematic as long as the state keeps its governmental supervision, others fear that the state is losing its capability to control the activities of private actors in the field of security, the more privatization proceeds. The working paper, firstly, provides a systematic overview on the inclusion of private business actors in the provision of security. Secondly, it will address the question of its consequences for the state. The papers highlights that privatization stops short of transforming the state but it is about to weaken the democratic legitimation of the use of force. -- Sicherheitspolitik ist in den letzen Jahrzehnten erheblichen strukturellen Wandlungsprozessen unterworfen, die sich zugegeben grob mit den Trends einer Internationalisierung und Privatisierung umschreiben lassen. Eine besonders auffällige Entwicklung ist die gestiegene Bedeutung privater Wirtschaftsakteure in der Bereitstellung von Sicherheit. Die Frage, die sich dabei stellt, ist, welche Effekte dieser Trend der Privatisierung für die staatliche Organisation von Sicherheitspolitik zeitigt. Während einige glauben, dass die Bereitstellung von Sicherheit durch private Akteure unproblematisch ist, so lange der Staat die Bedingungen der privaten Bereitstellung hinreichend kontrolliert, fürchten andere, dass mit der zunehmenden Auslagerung an private Akteure diese Kontrolle dem Staat aus der Hand gleitet. Das Arbeitspapier will zunächst einen systematischen Überblick über die Beteiligung privater Wirtschaftsakteure in der Sicherheitspolitik geben, bevor es die möglichen Konsequenzen dieser Form der Privatisierung für die staatliche Organisation von Sicherheitspolitik thematisiert. Die Analyse verdeutlicht, dass Privatisierung in der Sicherheitspolitik zwar keine Transformation des Staates nach sich zieht, aber die demokratischen Legitimationsmechanismen innerhalb der staatlichen Gewaltmonopols sukzessive schwächt.

Sicherheitspolitik im Diskurs (I): Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspolitik in der Enzyklopädie (2022)

Sicherheitspolitik im Diskurs (I) – Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspolitik in der Enzyklopädie (2022) – Autorenbeitrag zum Lemma 'Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspolitik' für die Wikipedia-Enzyklopädie (Stand September 2022).:Sicherheitspolitik im Diskurs (I) – Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspolitik in der Enzyklopädie (2022) – • Vorwort des Herausgebers • Dokumentation: Autorenbeitrag für die Enzyklopädie Wikipedia zum Lemma 'Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspolitik' ○ Abstract ○ Gliederung ○ Aufgabe der Studiengemeinschaft ○ Geschichte zur Studiengemeinschaft ○ Schriftenreihe ‘DSS-Arbeitspapiere’ ○ Kolloquium 2005 und 2009 im Rathaus Dresden ○ DSS-Veranstaltungsjahr ○ Weitere Kontakte zur Öffentlichkeit ○ Literatur und Quelle

Goodbye Bismarck? : the foreign policy of contemporary Germany

This essay examines the foreign policy discourse in contemporary Germany. In reviewing a growing body of publications by German academics and foreign policy analysts, it identifies five schools of thought based on different worldviews, assumptions about international politics, and policy recommendations. These schools of thought are then related to, first, actual preferences held by German policymakers and the public more generally and, second, to a small set of grand strategies that Germany could pursue in the future. It argues that the spectrum of likely choices is narrow, with the two most probable-the strategies of "Wider West" and "Carolingian Europe"---continuing the multilateral and integrationist orientation of the old Federal Republic. These findings are contrasted with diverging assessments in the non-German professional literature.Finally, the essay sketches avenues for future research by suggesting ways for broadening the study of country-specific grand strategies, developing and testing inclusive typologies of more abstract foreign policy strategies, and refining the analytical tools in examining foreign policy discourses in general

Setting signals for European foreign and security policy: discussing differentiation and flexibility

Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit der europäischen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik im neuen Jahrtausend. Zunächst werden neue Integrationsstrukturen diskutiert, dabei wird vor allem der Aspekt der engeren Kooperation hervorgehoben und analysiert. Danach stellt der Autor das Prinzip der 'gemeinschaftsorientierten nicht-militärischen engeren Kooperation' vor, und die damit verbundenen neuen Aufgaben und Verantwortungen der EU-Institutionen (z.B. Kommission, Rat) werden erörtert. Abschließend wird der militärische Aspekt der europäischen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik beleuchtet und das veränderte Verhältnis zur Nato erläutert. (ICD

Macht und Machthierarchien in den internationalen Beziehungen: Ein Analysekonzept für die Forschung über regionale Führungsmächte

Much of recent international relations literature argues conflicts to achieve or to frustrate regional dominance will become more virulent in the future. In this context we examine different approaches in international relations theory regarding the role and importance which they attribute to regional powers. We discuss diverse concepts of power and theoretical approaches that address the topics of power relations and power hierarchies in international politics. Marking differences as well as common grounds with the more traditional concept of "middle powers", we sketch an analytical concept of regional powers adequate for contemporary international relations research. The paper concludes with reflections on the relationship between regional powers and regional integration and a short discussion of the analytical value of the concept of cooperative hegemony for the study of regional powers.International Relations, Power, Power Transition, Regional Powers, Middle Powers, Cooperative Hegemony

Intentions and ambivalences in U.S. policies towards Europe

"Die Vereinigten Staaten wünschen sich von Europa eine stärkere Beteiligung in der internationalen Sicherheitspolitik, fürchten sich aber vor sinkendem Einfluss auf sich einigendes Europa." (Autorenreferat

Ireland and the Nice Treaty. ZEI Discussion Paper: 2002, C 115

[Introduction.] The experience in Ireland of conducting two referenda on the Nice Treaty: Just for the record, let me remind you that the first referendum was held in June 2001, when the result was just under 54% against and just over 46% per cent in favour. The turnout was just under 35%, the second lowest in the history of referenda in Ireland and by far the lowest in referenda related to Europe. In the second referendum, held on October 19 last, there was a dramatic turn-around; 63% said "yes", 37% "no" and 51% of the electorate failed to vote. Those among you who possess agile mathematical minds will be able to work out pretty quickly that the "no" vote changed little between the two referenda; from just over 20% of the vote the first time to around 18% last month. The key to the positive result the second time around, therefore, was the higher turnout, even though half of the electorate stayed away from the polls. Put another way, many voters who are inclined to be well disposed towards the EU and who abstained last year actually turned out this time. You might well wonder why a country which has enjoyed such largesse from the EU’s coffers should appear to be so reluctant to vote in favour of further integration and enable our less-fortunate neighbours in central and eastern Europe to share in the same good fortune. Had the EU not, after all, been a major factor in the creation of the phenomenon which has come to be known as the Celtic Tiger economy