The Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies

Since its creation in 1978, the Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies (PSIS) has established itself as a cornerstone for a variety of academic and policy-orientated initiatives. A self-governing and independent institution financed by the Swiss Confederation and the Canton of Geneva, the PSIS is incorporated into the Graduate Institute of International Studies. The programme endeavours to engage in research and debate at the highest level.

ACTIVITIES

Central to the regular activities of the PSIS is research on issues relating to international security, strategy, arms control, post-conflict peacebuilding, and environmental security. This results in a regular stream of publications, including two series, the PSIS Occasional Papers and the PSIS Special Studies. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on interaction and debate, in the form of both ad hoc academic seminars and conferences. These events have attracted a host of prestigious guests – as both speakers and audience – from the diplomatic as well as academic arena.


OUR SCOPE

Over the past few years, the PSIS has widened its scope considerably, in line with the evolution of international security challenges. It is now an intellectual as well as administrative centre for a variety of projects, namely the Small Arms Survey, the Geneva Forum , and the BioWeapons Prevention Project. All these initiatives, based in Geneva, focus in particular on the policy side of our research agenda, and endeavour to work in close contact with the international community in an effort to put theory into practice.