Global Community

Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan is a Philosopher, Neuroscientist and Geostrategist. He is Head of GCSP's Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme and Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College at Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. He was voted as one of the Top 30 most influential Neuroscientists in the world.

He holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. He trained in neurosurgery/neuroscience research at the Mayo Clinic, Yale University and Harvard University.

He founded the neurotechnology programme, headed translational research and founded the laboratory for cellular neurosurgery and neurosurgical technology at MGH, Harvard. He was on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, has published extensively on neuroscience research and won several research prizes. These prizes include: The Sir James Spence Prize; The Gibb Prize; The Farquhar-Murray Prize; The American Association of Neurological Surgeon Poster Prize (twice); The Meninger Prize; The Annual Resident Prize of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons; The Young Investigator Prize of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; The Annual Fellowship Prize of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

His interests include: Geostrategy and Sustainable National and Global Security; The Role of Science, Aerospace and Strategic Technologies in Geopolitics and Human Destiny; Global Strategic Cascading Risks; Global Justice, Human Dignity and Transcultural Synergy; Philosophy of Good Governance, Philosophy of Human Nature, Philosophy of History and Collective Civilisational Triumph; the History of Ideas; the Neurochemical and Cellular Foundations and Predilections of Human Nature and Their Implications for Global Discourses and Moral and Political Cooperation.

Anna Brach is Head of Human Security. Her work focuses on issues of environmental and health security with special emphasis on the climate change and security nexus. Her research interests include human security, human rights, environmental security, climate change, global public commons and resource management. She is responsible for developing and running the Human Security Cluster activities, including executive courses, workshops, and high-level conferences in Geneva and internationally. She is the Course Director for the European Security Course.

Anna holds a Master's degree in Economy from the Warsaw School of Economics, a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Geneva. 

Prior to joining the GCSP, she worked for the private sector at the PR Department of Nestlé Poland in Warsaw and at Academy&Finance in Geneva. Her native language is Polish and she is fluent in English and French.

Colonel Christian Bühlmann is the Head of Diplomatic Dialogue. He is seconded from the Swiss Armed Forces.

Prior to this assignment, he gained extensive experience in the area of defence policy, politics, and military strategy as Senior Advisor to the Chief of Swiss Armed Forces. He has over 25 years of combined civilian and military experience. His previous appointments include : Head of Sales Defense at a major Swiss company (as a civilian) as well as head of doctrine research and development (as a regular officer).

He graduated from the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (Master of Science in Computer Sciences), and the Swiss Military Academy. He received a Master of Arts in International Studies (King's College, London) after attending the Royal College of Defence Studies, London. In his spare time, he is working on a PhD thesis in political science assessing the influence of political ideas on the transformation of Swiss defence policy.

Christian Bühlmann co-authored a book on a Colonel Daniel Reichel, a maverick Swiss military thinker, and has published numerous article on doctrine, strategy, defence policy, and history.

He is a Swiss national; his mother tongue is French and he is proficient in German and English

Visit his personal website.

Peter is Head of Leadership at GCSP and Co-Director of the Geneva Leadership Alliance, an ecosystem of associates and partners working together to advance the practice of leadership for the benefit of peace and security worldwide. At its core lies a partnership combining GCSP’s expertise on peace, security, governance and international cooperation with the cross-sectoral leadership development expertise of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).

Peter has 20 years of experience in leadership development and executive education across private, public, and non-profit sectors. He partners with organisations on leadership development strategies and creates executive education programmes that are both globally accessible and locally applicable. Leveraging his diverse background, he creates safe spaces for learning and brave spaces for application, where people can experiment with leadership mindsets and skills in transformative ways and adapt them to their own environment.

Peter was born in England, grew up in The Netherlands, honed his early professional skills in Australia and the Asia Pacific region, and is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland. He works in English, French and Dutch.

Dr. Davidshofer is the Acting Director of the Leadership in International Security Course in 2020. In 2018 he started at the GCSP as the MAS Academic Advisor. With a PhD from Sciences Po Paris, Stephan has been researching and teaching in the field of Critical Security Studies for the past fifteen years. Interested about the challenges raised by the management of today’s transnational security threats, he has contributed to several research projects investigating the evolving European security landscape from the Peace Research institute in Oslo and the University of Geneva. Stephan is also currently a lecturer at the University of Geneva's Global Studies institute. Dr. Davidshofer speaks French, English and Portuguese.

Dominika de Beauffort is a Senior Policy Officer under the Security and Law Programme. In this role Dominika leads projects, teaches and is Course Director of the executive education course “International Disarmament Law”. She also contributes to the event series “Security and Law: A Reality Check”, a public dialogue that explores how international law matters in security affairs. Dominika has conducted research on the Arms Trade Treaty with a focus on national implementation practices regarding prohibitions and export assessments. Her current research interests include legal aspects of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Dominika brings many years of experience in consulting and training in the private and public sector in Brussels and Geneva. Prior to joining the GCSP, she was a senior consultant at PACT European Affairs (now EPPA), where she led European public affairs workshops and training sessions for private companies, NGOs and diplomatic missions.

Dominika is a trained conference interpreter and after completing a postgraduate Master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies at the College of Europe, Belgium, she has further specialized in international law at the Law Faculty of the University in Linz in Austria. Dominika is an Austrian and Polish national. She speaks German (native language) and fluent Polish, English, French and Russian.

Dr Robert Dewar is the Head of Cyber Security at the GCSP.  Robert holds an MA (Hons.) in Modern History from the University of St Andrews, an MSc in Global Security (Politics, Information and Security) and a PhD in Politics, both from the University of Glasgow. His PhD thesis was an examination of institutional dynamics in EU cyber security policy-making. 

At the GCSP Robert provides executive education courses on cyber security and defence, the European Union and international relations as well as developing innovative pedagogical approaches to the teaching of cyber security.  He also initiates and engages in international dialogue activities on cyber security and defence and conducts research into cyber security and defence policy, security studies, active and blended learning, the European Union and historical institutionalism.

Prior to joining the GCSP Robert was a Senior Researcher in the Cyber Defence Team of the Centre for Security Studies at ETH Zurich.  He published papers on EU cyber security development, cyber defence policy and strategy, cyber weapons development and the use of exercises and simulations as teaching tools in cyber defence.

Before moving to Switzerland Robert was a lecturer and tutor at the University of Glasgow and the University of Stirling. He taught courses on international relations, cyber security and the European Union promoting the use of active learning in the classroom.

Robert is a dual German and British citizen and speaks English and German.

Select Publications

Book Chapters

Dewar, Robert and Myriam Dunn Cavelty, (2019) Die Cybersicherheitspolitik der Europaeischen Union: Bollwerk gegen die Versicherheitlichung eines Politiksbereichs in Schuenemann und Kneuer (eds.) E-Government und Netzpolitik im europaeischen Vergleich

Dewar, Robert, (2017) The European Union and Cybersecurity: A Historiography of an Emerging Actor’s Response to a Global Security Concern, in O’Neill and Swinton (eds.) Challenges and Critiques of the EU Internal Security Strategy.

Policy Analyses

Dewar, Robert (ed.);  (2018) National Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense Policy Snapshots, National Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense Policy Snapshots.

Dewar, Robert, (2018) Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense Exercises, Center for Security Studies Cyber Defense Report.

Dewar, Robert, (2018) Contextualizing Cyber Operations, Center for Security Studies Cyber Defense Trend Analysis.

Dewar, Robert, (2018) Cyberspace is a Consensual Hallucination, Center for Security Studies Policy Perspectives.

Dewar, Robert, (2017) Cyberweapons: Capability, Intent and Context in Cyberdefense, Center for Security Studies Cyber Defense Trend Analysis.

Dewar, Robert, (2017) Active Cyber Defense, Center for Security Studies Cyber Defense Trend Analysis.

Articles

Dewar, Robert, (2014) The “Triptych of Cyber Security”: A Classification of Active Cyber Defence, NATO CCDCOE 2014 6th International Conference on Cyber Conflict.

Christian Dussey is the Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).

Prior to this assignment, he served as Swiss Ambassador and Head of the Crisis Management Centre of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). The Centre coordinates the governmental crisis response system during major incidents affecting Swiss citizens abroad (disasters, political upheavals, terror attacks, hostage-taking).

In 2012, he was selected to serve as a fellow at Harvard University (Weatherhead Center for International Affairs), where he spent the academic year 2012-2013.

Among other postings as a Swiss career diplomat, Christian Dussey headed the International Security Section of the FDFA, served as political counselor at the Embassy of Switzerland in Moscow (Russia) and as diplomatic adviser to the President of the Swiss Confederation.

Prior to joining the diplomatic corps of the FDFA, he served for five years at the Strategic Intelligence Service of the Federal Department of Defense. Christian Dussey is also a general staff officer in the Swiss armed forces. He is regularly invited to give lectures on crisis management at various universities and business schools. He was educated at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (MA), at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland (MA), and at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. (exchange student).

Marc Finaud is a former French diplomat who was seconded to the GCSP from 2004 to 2013 and is now a staff member. At the GCSP, Mr Finaud leads activities related to Arms Proliferation.

He finished Secondary School in Marseille in 1970 and in Independence, Iowa (USA) in 1971. He holds the Certificate of Proficiency in English (With Merits) of the University of Cambridge, Great Britain (1974), as well as a Master's Degree in International Law of the University of Aix-en-Provence, France (1975) and he is a Graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (1977).

He joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977, first at the Military Cooperation Division. In 1977-1978, he was Vice-Consul at the French Consulate-General in Leningrad (USSR). Back in Paris, he worked at the Directorate for Europe (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe -CSCE-) from 1979 to 1982. He was a member of the French Delegation to the CSCE Meeting in Madrid (1980-1982). In 1982-1983 he served as Chief of Staff of the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before being appointed First Secretary at the French Embassy in Warsaw. In 1987-1988, he was the Secretary-General of the French Delegation to the CSCE Meeting in Vienna.

In 1989-1993 he served as Second Counsellor at the French Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and a member of the French Delegation to the First Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. From 1993 to 1996 he was the Head of the Information Department (and alternate spokesman) of the Foreign Ministry in Paris. In 1995-1996, he was a lecturer on arms control and disarmament for a post-graduate course at the Marne-la-Vallée University. In 1996 was appointed Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Tel Aviv (Israel) where he joined the Team of Negotiators of the EU Special Envoy to the Middle East. He was transferred to Sydney as Consul-General for France in January, 2001, with jurisdiction over the whole of Australia.

Apart from French, he speaks English, Russian and Polish. He has published many articles, chapters and books on arms control and disarmament as well as on the Middle East and international humanitarian law.

In addition, from August 2013 to May 2015, Marc Finaud was Senior Resident Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).

Isabelle Gillet is the Head of Community Engagement and leads, develops, and organizes the Centre’s community programmes in Geneva and abroad, including community-led projects. She aims to facilitate mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships between the GCSP and its alumni community.

Isabelle has joined the GCSP early 2008 and has held different positions throughout this period. She began at the Centre in the Protocol and Events department where she managed expert seminars, diplomatic dialogue, executive training workshops and major international conferences. In December 2013 she began working for the GCSP’s alumni development and introduced a new strategic plan and new technology to most effectively engage alumni in the life of the GCSP.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Isabelle worked for 14 years for Geneva Tourism & Convention Bureau, where she started to work in the Sales and Promotions department. As its Manager in the later years, she was in charge of a cross-cultural team to brand and develop the destination’s leisure tourism sector. Herself responsible for the Asian market, she established Geneva’s partnerships in the Far East and implemented commercial strategies and promotional projects with an active participation at sales meetings, workshops trade shows and other task forces to further drive business.

Isabelle has a large international background and has continually evolved in a multi-cultural environment. Isabelle is Swiss and lived and worked in the US, UK, India, the Middle East, and the Far East.

She is trilingual in English, French and German and holds a degree in international hotel business management.

Ms Fleur Heyworth leads the GCSP's executive education, dialogue and policy analysis on gender and inclusive security.  Working closely with the GCSP's Leadership Alliance, she designs and facilitates courses on leadership for women, and for male and female leaders to create more inclusive working environments.  She also delivers modules on gender and inclusive security to the multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural participants on GCSP's core courses, incorporating the frameworks of the Women Peace and Security Agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The GCSP is also an incubator for collaboration with academics and practitioners, diplomats, NGOs and businesses, enabling Fleur to work across sectors to identify tools and strategies to promote greater senior level representation of women, and more equality in society, the economy and politics.  In August 2017 she worked with Dr Catherine Turner to publish a policy paper 'Women in Mediation: Connecting the Local and the Global'; she is currently working on nudge theory and the relationship between gendered leadership styles and security outcomes.

Fleur began her professional career as a Barrister and spent 5 years advocating in court, representing government and private clients in family law proceedings in England and Wales.  In Geneva, she worked at the UK Mission to the UN where she represented the UK government in negotiations in International Humanitarian Law at the Red Cross Conference 2015, and on a range of thematic topics during three Human Rights Council sessions.  She organised events on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Disasters and Emergencies, and on gender equality.  She also worked with NGOs during UPR sessions and drafted recommendations to CEDAW.  Fleur has a Geography Degree from Cambridge University, and took her post-graduate studies in law at Nottingham Law School..

Ms Annika Hilding Norberg is Head of Peace Operations and Peacebuilding at the GCSP which involves facilitating dialogue, research, contribution to policy development and providing education and training. Annika’s focus is on strengthening leadership for peace at all levels (with an emphasis on UN and EU civilian, military and police missions and operations, but also leadership more broadly). She serves on the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform Management Committee.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Annika was the Founder and Director of the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations (Challenges Forum), a joint platform of then 22 countries, incl. the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, aimed at strengthening the planning and conduct of UN peace operations. Originating from when she served as President of the London School of Economics (LSE) International Relations Society, the Challenges Forum was founded in 1996 as part of Annika’s research studies on comparative approaches to peace operations at the LSE. Annika coordinated the Challenges Forum based at the LSE (1996-2000), the Swedish National Defence College (1997-2002) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, an agency of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-2017). She also served on the Board of Directors for the Peace Operations Training Institute (2010-2013).

Annika has lived, worked and /or studied in ten countries. She holds a BSc of International Relations from the LSE, an MA in International Politics from the Free University of Brussels and studied languages at the Moscow State University (1991) and the Universidad del Pais Vasco (1992). Annika is main editor of some 80 Challenges Forum and other reports and policy briefs. In 2008, she was awarded the Silver Medal of the Swedish Royal Academy of Military Science for her contributions to strengthening UN peacekeeping.   

Latest Video

Leadership for Peace through Conflict Analysis, Resolution and Management : Opening and Welcome

Mr David Horobin is Head of the Crisis Management at GCSP. He has more than 25 years operational experience in emergency and crisis management in natural and conflict related contexts in both field and HQ functions.  

As Head of Crisis Management his main tasks are designing, researching and delivering contemporary crisis management courses for decision makers, leaders, researchers and specialists in the government, humanitarian and corporate sectors. 

From 2010- 2017, he held the position of Head of Crisis Management and Security at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) providing policy, training and operational support for 18,000 ICRC staff in 80 countries for all emergency and security related incidents.

From 2006- 2010, he was Head of the Rapid Deployment Unit at the ICRC. He designed, staffed and managed ICRC’s emergency response and surge capacity capability incorporating ICRC’s technical and managerial support internally and through Red Cross/Crescent networks consisting of 190 National Societies with 24 hours deployable expertise and ERU teams.

From 2003-2006, Mr Horobin was Director of the Operations Team (CHASE-OT) at the UK’s Governments Department for International Development (DFID). He lead the UK’s emergency response to major international emergencies and managed a team of 45 experts in technical, operational and advisory roles. During this time he chaired the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) and was appointed EU High Level coordinator for Hurricane Katrina. 

Throughout his career, he developed first hand operational experience in natural and complex emergencies; Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, DRC, Philippines, Timor, Balkans, Iran, Afghanistan, Liberia, Japan, Asian Tsunami  and global emergencies such as Ebola, H1N1 and NRBC events. Additionally, he was responsible for  high level policy and operational coordination with UN, RCRC, governments and commercial operators.

A logistician by profession he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics (FCILT), and recently appointed Fellow and Advisory Board Member of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM); he holds an MSc in Transport Engineering from Imperial College, London and a BSc in Social Science. He has attained accredited Senior People, Leadership and Management (PLM-CS), Ashridge, UK (2007-2010), and certified EU High Level Coordinator (EU DG ENV-2006). Mr Horobin has advanced kidnap and crisis management training. 

Jean-Pierre Keller is a Senior Analyst and Deputy at the Terrorism-Joint Analysis Group (T-JAG) at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). His research focuses on local terrorist networks, terrorist financing and inter-related terrorism threats. In his role Jean-Pierre developed projects, teaches and lectures in intelligence/counter-terrorism analysis and management.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Jean-Pierre gained more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector. He had the opportunity to work as a Foreign Exchange trader, Portfolio Manager and later as an Investment Advisor for individuals and entrepreneurs based in the Sub-Saharan Africa countries, where he traveled on a regular basis.

Jean-Pierre holds a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Global Security and Conflict Resolution from the Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva. As GCSP Executive-in-Residence, he accomplished both GCSP & FOCP crisis management trainings. Retired officer of the Swiss Army, he was a Company Commander, specialized in disaster relief and was trained as a UN military observer. Jean-Pierre is also head of the team leaders and co-responsible for the mountaineering education and training at Club Alpin Suisse – Geneva section.

Today a member of the Institut de France, Jean-David Levitte has had a distinguished and outstanding career in the French Foreign Service, serving on the staff of three French Presidents and holding key senior positions in the French Foreign Service.

From 2007 to 2012, Ambassador Levitte was the Senior Diplomatic Adviser and Sherpa of President Sarkozy.

He served as Ambassador to the United States, from 2003 to 2007 during the difficult period of the war in Iraq.

From 2000 to 2002, he was the French Ambassador to the United Nations. In New York, Ambassador Levitte successfully handled several international negotiations, including resolution 1441 on Iraq.

Ambassador Levitte served as Senior Diplomatic Adviser and Sherpa of President Chirac from 1995 to 2000.
From 1990, he held senior positions in the French Foreign Ministry, first as Assistant Secretary for Asia and then as Undersecretary for Cultural and Scientific Cooperation.

In 1988, he was designated to his first position as Ambassador and served as the French Ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Before 1988 Mr. Levitte was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister ; Deputy Assistant Secretary in the African Bureau ; Second Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Levitte joined the Foreign Service in 1970. He was first posted in Hong Kong and Beijing in the early 1970's. A few months after his election in 1974, President Valery Giscard d'Estaing asked him to work on his staff at the Elysee Palace, where he stayed from 1975 to 1981.

Born in 1946 in the south of France, Ambassador Levitte earned a law degree and is a graduate of Sciences-Po (the renowned Institute for Political Science in Paris) and of the National School of Oriental Languages, where he studied Chinese and Indonesian.

Ambassador Levitte is married to Marie-Cécile Jonas and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

Dr Siobhán Martin joined the GCSP in 2006, and her primary focus is on curriculum design, development and delivery, in addition to outreach and research activities. She is currently the Director of the 8-month Leadership in International Security Course (LISC) and Co-Director of the Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security (MAS), jointly run by the GCSP and the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva. She is also responsible for the development of GCSP’s Advanced Course series including the LISC, the European Security Course (ESC) and the New Issues in Security Course (NISC). Siobhán has a PhD in International Relations/Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Her research interests focus on strategic intelligence, international cooperation, ethics, leadership issues, and transnational threats. She also holds a Master's Degree in International Relations as well as a Joint Bachelor's Degree in English and History from the University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. Prior to joining the GCSP, she held a number of positions in the private sector. Her native language is English, and she also speaks French.

Select Publications

“Spying in a Transparent World”, reprinted as Chapter 20 in Cyber Ethics 4.0: Serving Humanity With Values, edited by Christoph Stükelberger/Pavan Duggal, Globethics.net Global Series No. 17, 2018

“Secret Friends: Intelligence Cooperation and Counterterrorism” (with Carl Ungerer), in Intelligence and the Function of Government, edited by D. Baldino & R. Crawley, Melbourne University Publishers, 2018

“Spying in a Transparent World: Ethics and Intelligence in the 21st Century”, GCSP Geneva Paper – Research Series No. 19, November 2016

Alexandra Matas is a Head of the Effective Governance  cluster at the GCSP. Alexandra is directing Effective Governance courses in both English and French for State officials from different countries including Myanmar, Iraq, Cameroon and others. She also contributes to a number of GCSP courses including the European Security Course (ESC), Leadership in International Security Course (LISC), Swiss Military Professional Officers Training (SPOT) and others.

Alexandra is designing and delivering dialogue events in Geneva and internationally on the topics of the European Security, the OSCE conflict prevention mechanisms and post-war reconstruction in Syria. She represents the GCSP to the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions. 

Her research interests include European Security Architecture, the OSCE and the relationships between Russia and the other post-Soviet states. She speaks Russian, English, French and basic German.

Alexandra joined the GCSP in January 2011 and coordinated activities of the Programmes on Security and Law, and WMD & Disarmament, respectively. She also worked at the GCSP as Short Course Coordinator in 2010 and as an intern from 2006 to 2007.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Alexandra coordinated the FDI promotion activities for the members of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA). She also worked as a Junior Relationship Manager at the Trade Finance department of the Credit Suisse bank.

Alexandra holds a Master in International Affairs degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva. During her studies she interned at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She also holds a Public Relations degree from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports and Tourism.

Philippe Meyer graduated from the French Air Force Academy in 1977, and earned his wings as tactical transport pilot in 1978. He logged over 5,000 flying hours on C160 Transall and C130 Hercules, commanded the tactical transport wing of Orleans, and his flying operational career included many detachments in Africa and others in Cambodia (UN), Sinai (MFO) and Saudi Arabia (Desert Storm). Since 1993 he has been deeply involved in international relations and politico-military issues, serving in the Ministry of Defence’s office in the diplomatic cell and as advisor at the strategic planning office of the joint headquarters. He was assigned for four years in Doha (Qatar) as Defence Attaché at the French Embassy and four years in Vienna as General Head Military Advisor to the French Ambassador near the OSCE. Before joining the GCSP in 2011, he ended his career at the Air Defence and Operations Command in Paris where he was Deputy to the Commander, in charge of international relations (EU, NATO).

From 2011 to 2014 he was seconded from the French Ministry of Defense to the GCSP and served as Special Advisor of the Director and Senior Defense Advisor in the Regional Development Programme. In that position, he supervised relations between GCSP and the French Ministry of Defense and developed the “Francophonie” programme. Lecturer on diplomacy and defense issues, he helped further GCSP projects in the Gulf Region and Africa.

He was appointed as COO on the 1st of July 2014.

His educational background includes a Diploma of Engineering in Aeronautics, and courses at the US Air War College at Maxwell AFB, the National Defence and Security Institute in Paris, the High Military Institute in Paris and the European Security and Defence College.

Born in 1956, he is married and has three children.

Emily Munro heads the work on Strategic Anticipation and leads projects on dialogue on emerging security issues at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). In this role Emily leads projects and contributes to courses, in particular in the area of strategic foresight and international security and on initiatives seeking to foster dialogue on cyber security and arms proliferation. She is a term facilitator and module responsible in the eight-month Leadership in International Security Course (LISC) and she directs an annual short courses on strategic foresight. She was the Course Director of the two-month New Issues in Security Course from 2017 to 2019.

Emily has been with the GCSP since 2003, in functions related to partnership development and governance issues, training and academic affairs, and courses and projects on peacebuilding and new issues in security.

She has previous professional experience at the International Organization for Migration (Geneva), the Global Forum for Health Research (Geneva) and the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada).

Emily holds a Master’s Degree in international relations from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and a Bachelor’s Degree in international relations and political science from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Emily is a Canadian and Swiss citizen and she speaks English (native language) and French.

Publications

• “Strengthening Prevention with Better Anticipation: COVID-19 and Beyond”, Strategic Security Analysis, GCSP, Geneva, March 2020.
• Security in a World without Nuclear Weapons: Visions and Challenges, (co-editor, with David Atwood), GCSP, Geneva, December 2013.
• Multidimensional and Integrated Peace Operations: Trends and Challenges, Geneva Paper 1 (Conference Series), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and GCSP, Geneva, January 2008.
• “Natural Disasters, Globalization, and the Implications for Global Security”, in Policy Briefs on the Transnational Aspects of Security and Stability, edited by Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan, pp. 149-162, Zurich, LIT Verlag, 2007.
• Challenges to Neutral and Non-Aligned Countries in Europe and Beyond, (editor), GCSP, Geneva, 2005.

Christina Orisich is the Deputy Director of GCSP and Head of  GCSP’s “Executive Education” activities, developing and expanding the organisation’s comprehensive portfolio internationally.

Ms Orisich brings an extensive international experience in executive education to GCSP, as well as expertise in consulting in organizational and leadership development, change management, strategy and leading a business. She has a very good understanding of challenges leaders face in this complex and ever-changing world both in the private and public sector.

Prior to joining the GCSP, she worked for 12 years for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) - Europe, where she was Head of the Coaching and Leadership Development Practice, responsible for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Previously as EMEA Design Practice Leader, she led a cross-cultural team of experienced instructional design faculty who delivered highly customized leadership solutions in response to very specific client challenges. In her role as Regional Director, responsible for Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and France at CCL she was responsible for all CCL activities in these countries (multi-million businesses). She built extensive experience in partnering strategically with international global corporations and institutions to support them with their organizational, talent and leadership development challenges. She was Senior Lead Faculty for several client engagements and worked with most of the large international corporations from the Pharma, Health Care, Chemical, Automotive and Financial Services industry. She is also a very experienced Executive coach, and regularly worked with senior leaders from big blue chip corporations as well as international organizations.

Before this, Christina worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Consulting) in Brussels and London leading EU financed projects in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Romania in the public and private sector. Christina also worked at the European Commission in Brussels, Ericsson in Vienna and the Austrian Trade Commission in New York City.

Christina has a broad international background and has always worked in multi-cultural environments across a wide range of industries, leading and working with cross-cultural teams. She is Austrian and has lived and worked in 13 countries (Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Ukraine, Estonia, Russia and Poland). She speaks 8 languages.

She holds a degree in International Business Administration from the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria. She earned her postgraduate degree in European political studies, from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She is a certified Leadership Embodiment Coach and is certified by the International Coaching Federation. 

Anne-Caroline is the Head of the GCSP’s Global Fellowship Initiative and Creative Spark. Anne-Caroline joined the GCSP in September 2003 and has held different positions throughout this time. She spent a number of years working with the Director of Special Programmes on diplomatic activities and training courses abroad. She then worked with the External Relations Team and, as its Manager, was in charge of the Centre’s external communications - GCSP website, media relations and publications. She later joined the Emerging Security Challenges Programme as a Senior Programme Officer responsible for the Security and Law activities of the Centre. Since 2015, Anne-Caroline coordinates the GCSP Global Fellowship Initiative and currently also heads the development of the Creative Spark.

She holds a Master’s Degree (LL.M.) in International Humanitarian Law, jointly awarded by the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI). She studied Law at Pierre Mendes France, University of Grenoble (France), and after her Maîtrise with specialisation in European Law, she obtained a Diploma from their European Summer Academy on "Europe in Transition".

Prior to her employment at the GCSP, she worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Athens (Greece), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in Geneva.

Anne-Caroline speaks English, French, Greek, Spanish, Italian and German.

Dr Jean-Marc Rickli  is the Head of global risk and resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the co-chair of the NATO Partnership for Peace Consortium emerging security challenges working group and a senior advisor for the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Initiative at the Future Society. He is also a member of The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems and represents the GCSP in the United Nations in the framework of the Governmental Group of Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). He is a member of the advisory board of Tech4Trust, the first Swiss startup acceleration program in the field of digital trust and cybersecurity. In 2020, he was nominated as one of the 100 most influential French-speaking Swiss by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Prior to these appointments, Dr Rickli was an assistant professor at the Department of Defence Studies of King’s College London. Dr Rickli received his PhD and MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, UK, where he was also a Berrow scholar at Lincoln College. His latest book published by Georgetown University Press is entitled Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-first Century. He has lived and worked in Europe, USA, Middle East and China.

Jean-Paul Rouiller was born on April 8, 1967 in Saint Maurice, Switzerland. He worked for the Swiss Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) from December 2003 to January 2010, creating the first Counter-terrorism Unit within the Swiss Federal Criminal Police (SFCP). He then developed the structures and concepts of the first counter-terrorism analysis unit of the SFCP (in charge of intelligence collection and risk analysis in the field of counter-terrorism and terrorism).

In 1994, Mr Rouiller joined the Swiss Intelligence Service as a junior country analyst. By 1996, Rouiller had taken responsibility for all terrorism files; these encompassed, among others, Radical Islamic organizations, the ‘ethno-nationalists’ groups (eg. IRA, PKK, LTTE or ETA) and the remnants of the far-left (eg. 17N phantom group in Greece). On a more technical level, he worked on a project dedicated to the research and treatment methods of both open and classified information (including the technique of cascading), as specifically applied to the field of terrorism. He was also involved in creating the first comprehensive anti-terrorism database used by the Swiss Intelligence Service.

From January to March 2000, he joined the Combined Strategic Intelligence Training Program (CSITP), an intelligence course developed by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). In this three month course, within a class composed of students from different countries and services, he expanded his understanding U.S. intelligence machinery, methods and operations.

Mr Rouiller left the Swiss Intelligence Service in October 2000 in order to join the Office of the Coordinator of Intelligence Services of Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud, as Adviser on Homeland Security (in german, Referent Innere Sicherheit).

The events that lead him to join the Swiss Federal Criminal Police unfolded in late 2001, following the 9/11 attacks. From December 2003 to December 2010, Mr Rouiller created, developed and lead no less than four different counter-terrorism units within the Swiss Federal Criminal Police. In 2011, he created the Geneva Centre for Training and Analysis of Terrorism.

In 2017, Mr Rouiller created the Terrorism Joint Analysis Group at the GCSP, to deliver timely analysis to both the public and private sectors on the global manifestations of terror.

Colonel (GS) Markus Schneider has been seconded to the GCSP from the German Armed Forces in June 2020.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Col Schneider supervised the Logistics department (G4) of the Rapid Forces Division in Stadtallendorf, one of the three divisions of the army which is responsible for Special Forces, Airborne operations and Army helicopters. In the field of logistics, he was also company and battalion commander in the Army and in the Joint Support Service.         
Col Schneider held an instructor and lecturer position for logistics at the Joint Operations department of the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg and was department head for logistics at battalion and brigade levels.

Col Schneider spent three years at the Ministry of Defence in Berlin and worked in the department for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation issues, most importantly in relation with the CFE Treaty, SALW and Iranian nuclear policy. He was later appointed Assistant Section Chief to the Permanent Representation of the German Armed Forces to NATO and the EU Military Committee in Brussels, dealing with EU Plans & Policy and EU Operations.         
From 2016 to 2017 he took part in the 44th course of the Israeli National Defence College in Tel Aviv.           
In addition, he served twice in military operations, 2008 KFOR as battalion commander and 2018/19 as Head of the German Armed Forces in Iraq (OIR, CBI).

Col Schneider started his career in the supply and transport units of the Army and studied Economics and Organisational Sciences at the Bundeswehr University in Munich (Dipl.-Kfm., WOW). He successfully graduated from the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg (Army's 43rd General Staff Course) and earned a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Haifa.            
He received the Bronze and Silver Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr and was decorated with the Non-Article 5 NATO Medal – KFOR and the German Bronze Medal for Foreign Duty for his services with KFOR and Operation Inherent Resolve -Capacity Building Iraq.

He speaks fluent German and English and has basic knowledge in French and Spanish.

Dr. Christina Schori Liang leads the Terrorism and PVE Cluster at the GCSP.

Dr. Liang is the Acting Director of the Leadership in International Security Course in 2019 and will lead the 21st edition of the New Issues in Security Course in 2020. She also designs and directs courses on Preventing Violent Extremism and on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict and is an active contributor to GCSP’s Track Two diplomacy and dialogue events.

Dr. Liang was editor of Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right and has contributed to the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 Global Terrorism Index Reports. Dr. Liang has given academic and policy-related presentations in over 30 countries. She is an active member of the UN’s Global Counter Terrorism Research Network and advises the UN Security Council’s 1267 Committee on terrorist financing. Dr. Liang has testified for the US National Intelligence Council, the US State Department, the European Commission, and the European Forum for Urban Security and has given multiple presentations for the NATO Defense College in Rome and the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna.

Dr Liang is a member of the RESOLVE Network Research Advisory Council of the US Institute for Peace and a global expert for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Dr. Liang was an Adjunct Faculty member for Boston University from 2008-2013 and is currently a Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, Paris. 

She holds a doctorate in International Relations and an MA in History and International Politics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.

Alexandra Thiry is GCSP’s Learning Innovation and Impact Lead. She manages projects that aim at enhancing the learning experience of participants to GCSP’s executive education activities. Specifically, she is responsible for streamlining GCSP’s approach to blended learning and building capacity to design and deliver extended learning journeys for impact. 

Alexandra is a Certified Learning Professional from the “Swiss Competence Centre for Innovations in Learning” at the Institute of Business Education and Educational Management, University of St. Gallen. She possesses a passionate curiosity for learning and a strong commitment to advancing continuous learning and professional development at the international level. Alexandra is particularly interested in formats and methods that help learners apply new knowledge, skills and behaviours to their workplaces, as well as in opportunities arising from digitalisation and the possibilities of social learning.

Alexandra holds a Master’s Degree in “Peace and Conflict Studies and International Relations” from the University of Tuebingen (Germany) and a Bachelor’s Degree in “European Studies”. She has completed project management certificates, including in results based management. A German citizen Alexandra speaks English and French in addition to her native German. She is married and the proud mom of two sons.
 

Tobias Vestner leads the Security and Law Programme. He teaches, researches, and organizes dialogue on the intersection between security policy and international law.

He heads the annual ‘Symposium for Senior NATO/PfP Legal Advisors’. Tobias Vestner also leads and teaches in the executive education courses ‘Air and Missile Warfare: Navigating the Legal Dimension (Advanced AMPLE)’, ‘Legal Dimensions of Contemporary and Future Use of Force’, ‘Weapons Law and the Legal Review of Weapons’, as well as ‘Negotiations Theory and Practice’, among others. He is also responsible for the event series ‘Security and Law: A Reality Check’, a public dialogue that explores how international law matters in security affairs. Tobias Vestner regularly advises governments, international organizations, and private firms on global security and legal issues.

Tobias Vestner has many years of experience in international law, international relations, and policymaking. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Exeter University, a Fellow at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (NATO), and a Non-Resident Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). A former reserve member of the Swiss Special Forces Command, he serves as reserve Legal Advisor at the Swiss Armed Forces Staff. He is member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War (ISMLLW) and member of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL). Before joining the GCSP, Tobias Vestner was Research Affiliate and Global Futures Fellow at Georgetown University. Prior to that, he was Policy Advisor at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, where he managed political processes with regard to the export of conventional weapons, and participated in the UN negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty. Previously, while at the Law of Armed Conflict Section at the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, he contributed to bilateral negotiations on military cooperation, and trained military officers in international humanitarian law.

Tobias Vestner holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a Master of Laws in International and European Law from the University of Geneva, and a Bachelor degree in Swiss law from the University of Lausanne. Tobias Vestner has Swiss and German nationality, and is fluent in English, French, and German. 

Books

• The Protection of Civilians: Law, Policy, and Practice’, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming (co-authored)
• ‘A Guide to International Disarmament Law’, Routledge, June 2019 (co-authored)

Select Papers

• ‘Managing Military Operations in the Age of AI’, in Robin Geiß and Henning Lahmann (eds), ‘Handbook on Warfare and Artificial Intelligence’, Edward Elgar, forthcoming
• ‘Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space: Multilateral Negotiations’ Effects on International Law’, Moscow Journal of International Law, forthcoming
• ‘Trends in Global Disarmament Treaties’, Journal of Conflict & Security Law, forthcoming (co-authored)
• ‘Targeting Private Military and Security Companies’, Military Law and the Law of War Review, March 2020
• ‘Addressing the Use of Human Shields’, Strategic Security Analysis, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, December 2019
• ‘Book Review of the Leuven Manual on the International Law Applicable to Peace Operations’, International Review of the Red Cross, September 2019 (co-authored)
• ‘Synergies between the Arms Trade Treaty and the Wassenaar Arrangement’, Strategic Security Analysis, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, May 2019
• ’Prohibitions and Export Assessment: Tracking Implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty’, Geneva Paper 19/23, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, March 2019
• ‘Weapons Systems Supply and Operational or Logistical Support under the PSSA’, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, March 2019 (co-authored)

Digital Tool

• DisarmApp, ACW - Artifex Creative Webnet, January 2020 (co-created)

Talks at the GCSP

• Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire
• International Disarmament Treaties: Trends and Lessons Learned 
• War Algorithms: Who Will Decide in Future Conflicts?
• Bye-Bye, International Order?
• Do the Geneva Conventions Matter?
• Dear Geneva: Let's Talk Hybrid Warfare
• Responsibility to Protect Revisited
• Arms Transfer to Conflict-prone Regions
• Russia and Europe: International Law as Bone of Contention or Common Denominator?
• Does Law Contribute to Peace Operations' Success?
• The Trump Administration and International Law
• Special Panel on Libya
• Expert Seminar on Enforced Disappearances
• Writing on the Wall: Redefining Security and Law
• The Worth of the Arms Trade Treaty? Let’s debate!