German Institute for International and Security Affairs

A semi-official organization with close links to the federal government, it advises the Bundestag (the German parliament) and the federal government on foreign and security policy issues, and also advises decision-makers in international organisations relevant to Germany, above all the European Union, NATO and the United Nations.

Overall, the guiding framework concentrates on general issues in the two-year time frame, with particular reference to the current and foreseeable state of affairs in international politics.

It sets specific thematic challenges and topics, for instance the United Nations’ sustainability goals (SGDs), refugees and migrants, the dissolution of regional structures in the Middle East, and international crisis management (examples from the 2017–2018 research framework).

Within the established guiding framework, SWP is free to carry out and structure projects and research as it sees fit.

This safeguards SWP's unhindered ability to address long-term issues as well as current events in international politics.

Following a decision by the SWP Council in January 2001, the staff of the Cologne-based Federal Institute for Russian, Bundesinstitut für Ostwissenschaftliche und Internationale Studien (BIOst) and the department of contemporary research at the Munich-based Institute for Southeast European Studies (SOI) were integrated into SWP.

As part of the project "The Day After", the SWP together with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) gave Syrian intellectuals and representatives of various Syrian political movements the opportunity to discuss their ideas for the political, constitutional and economic development of Syria following a hypothetical replacement of Bashar al-Assad's government.

[11] During the presentation of the new White Book by Federal Defence Minister von der Leyen, Volker Perthes emphasised that Germany was "a responsible middle power" and needed to "safeguard and transmit the European and global order along with other states".

At the January 2010 event, Perthes raised the question of whether the US was also considering non-belligerent or non-military means of preventing a potential nuclear "breakout" on the part of Iran.

[15] It was proved correct by reports showing that the Stuxnet attack must have started at least half a year before the January 2010 conversation at the US Embassy.

[16] In a The Guardian interview about the January 2010 event at the US Embassy, Perthes said he had suggested that "unexplained occurrences" or "computer failures" were preferable to military strikes.

[17] According to a report by German news outlet Spiegel Online, authorities suspect Russian hacking group known as "Fancy Bear" or "APT28" was behind a December 2016 attack on SWP.