’The days of ā la carte cooperation are over.’
Oliver Thränert was head of the think tank of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich for almost twelve years. On the occasion of his retirement, we spoke to him about the future challenges of Swiss security and defence policy. You-ve been deeply involved with Swiss security policy for many years. What are the biggest differences to other countries? - Oliver Thränert : The Swiss Federal Council is a collegial body. There is no single head of government. This has the advantage that once decisions have been taken, they have broader legitimacy and are also more sustainable, as they can't be abruptly changed again by a change of government. In other Western democracies such as Germany, meanwhile, there's a greater need for the government under the leadership of the Federal Chancellor to agree on a position.
