Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy

Faculty and Staff

Gyula Csurgai, Ph.D., Academic Director
Dr. Gyula Csurgai was born in Hungary and holds Swiss and Canadian citizenships. He is married and has two children. He holds university degrees in political science from Concordia University, Canada and the University of Toulouse, France. He obtained two master’s degrees from the University of Geneva and a diploma in French language and civilization. Dr. Csurgai obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Geneva, completing his thesis in geopolitics.

Dr. Csurgai worked as scientific collaborator at the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI) and has taught international relations, geopolitics, and geo-economics for undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate programs at different universities. Dr. Csurgai has organized six international symposiums and in each case directed the publications of its proceedings. He has participated in several international research projects and has provided expertise to a number of international organizations. He has been collaborating with the SIT Study Abroad program in Geneva since 1997. He became the program’s academic director in January 2002.

Read Dr. Csugai's full CV.

Recent publications include:

“Identity Conflicts, Nationalism and Geopolitics in Central and South-East Europe”, in Webster Security Forum, Webster University, Geneva, 2010
“Geo-Economic Rivalries of States”, in Nigel Young (editor in chief), The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace: Oxford, 2010.
“Constant and Variable Factors of Geopolitical Analysis”, in Geopolitics: Schools of Thought, Method of Analysis and Case Studies, Gyula Csurgai (ed.), Edition de Penthes, Geneva, 2009
“Sovereign Wealth Funds: Strategies of Geo-Economic Power Projections”, in Otto Hieronymi (ed.), Globalization and the Reform of the International and Banking and Monetary System, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
“Geopolitics, Geo-Economics and Competitive Intelligence in Power Projection Strategies of the State in the 21st Century”, in Conferência Nacional de Política Externa e Política Internacional - o Brasil no mundo que vem aí, Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão,Brasilia 2008
“The Use of Geopolitical Approach in Analyzing Contemporary Conflicts”, in Globalization of Security Trends and Perspectives, Webster University, Geneva, 2008
“L’idée républicaine en Europe Centrale” (Republican ideology in Central Europe) in L’idée républicaine dans le monde, (Ed. Emmanuel Dupuy et Paul Baquiast , Harmattan, Paris 2007).
“Composantes et caractéristiques de la stratégie de désinformation” , (Constituents and characteristics of disinformation strategies) in RMS, Revue Militaire Suisse, Lausanne, March-April 2000
“Quelques considérations sur les facteurs géopolitiques de la Suisse” (Some Considerations on the Geopolitical Factors of Switzerland) RMS, Lausanne, 2006.
“Les zones grises des Balkans”, (Grey Zones in the Balkans) in Les zones grises dans le monde d’aujourd’hui, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2006
“Les enjeux géopolitiques des ressources naturelles” (Geopolitical stakes of natural resources), L’Age d’Homme, Lausanne, 2006
“La nation et ses territoires en Europe centrale Une approche géopolitique”, (The Nation and its territories in Central Europe, A geopolitical Approach) Peter LANG, Bern, 2005.

Dr. Alexandre Lambert, Academic Director

Alexandre Lambert, Ph.D., Academic Director
Alexandre Lambert is Swiss and holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva (Graduate Institute). He has been an academic director and lecturer with the SIT Study Abroad program in Geneva since 2007. Dr. Lambert has been lead researcher on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) at the Graduate Institute, project officer at the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), and a civil servant at the Swiss Federal Department of Defense. He belongs to a number of nonprofit civil society organizations, such as the Swiss Foreign Policy Association, the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), European Research Group on Armed Forces and Society (ERGOAS). He is also a fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS) based in Chicago and frequently provides independent policy advice to the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC), including in the context of its regional operations in the Western Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia. Dr. Lambert has published in the field of international politics and history, international security, and security sector governance.

Read Dr. Lambert's full CV.

Books:

Democratic Civilian Control of Armed Forces in the Post-Cold War Era, Berlin/London/Wien/Münster/Zürich (LIT: DCAF), 2009.
Jacques -Alexis Lambert: Professeur de Lénine, Témoignage de la Révolution Russe, Serie: « Suisses dans le Monde» (no. 4), Edition de Penthes/Infolio, Geneva 2009.
Democratic Governance of the Security Sector Beyond the OSCE Area: Regional Approaches in Africa and the Americas, Berlin/London/Wien/Münster/Zürich (LIT: DCAF), 2007 (co-editor); .
The OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security: Anatomy and Implementation, Leiden/Boston (Martinus Nijhoff), 2005, (co-author); .
OSZE-Verhaltenskodex zu Politisch-Militärischen Aspekten der Sicherheit: Zur Rolle der Streitkräfte in Demokratischen Gesellschaften, Center for Security Studies (CSS), Zürcher Beiträge (No. 71), Zurich, 200; free download .
Menschenrechte und Ihre Philosophische Begründung: Ein Vergleich Zwischen Otfried Höffe und Jürgen Habermas, ISBN 2-8399-0070-X, Zürich/Genf, 1997/2005 (www.humanright.ch).

Main Articles:

International Security, in: Nigel Young (editor in chief), The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace: Oxford, 2010.
Democracy by Force, in: James Forest & Isaiah Wilson (eds.), Handbook of Defense Politics: International and Comparative Perspectives, Routledge 2008, 46-63; .
Comprehensive Security in Response to New Threats, in: Alexandre Vautravers (ed.): Globalization of Security Trends and Perspectives (Security Forum 2007), Geneva (Webster University), 2008, 214-239.
Democratic Security Governance and Multilateral Cooperation: The European Approach, in: Vincent Chetail (ed.): Conflicts, Security and Cooperation (Liber Amicorum Victor-Yves Ghébali), Brussels: Bruylant, 2007, 429-446.
Implementation of Democratic Control of Armed Forces in the OSCE Region: Lessons from the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, DCAF, Occasional Papers, No. 11, Geneva, Geneva, 2006; free download.
Les interventions militaires de l’Union Européenne dans les Balkans, in : Revue Relations Internationales, No. 125 (2006), 59-72.
Categorization of Democratic Civilian Control, DCAF, Working Papers, No. 164 (2005); free download.
The Contribution of the OSCE to the International Fight Against Terrorism, Graduate Institute, Program for the Study of International Organizations, Occasional Paper 1 (2003), 111-124:

Lecturers for this program typically include:

Professor Alexandre Vautravers, Ph.D.
A Swiss and EU national, Alexandre Vautravers holds a Ph.D. in contemporary history from the University of Lyon and a Ph.D. in social and economic sciences from the University of Geneva. He is currently the head of the International Relations Department at Webster University Geneva. His areas of specialization include: refugee studies, international economics, history and political science, human rights, and international nongovernmental organizations (INGO). His areas of research and publications include: international relations, conflict studies and conflict resolution, strategy and military doctrines, humanitarian action, technology, and the politics of international economic relations.

Alexandre Vautravers is a lieutenant-colonel (GS) in the Swiss Armed Forces and has been commander of the 17th Tank Battalion since 2009. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Revue Militaire Suisse (RMS), an independent journal published since 1856.

Professor Michel Veuthey, Ph.D.
Michel Veuthey is vice president of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law and professeur associé at the Institut du Droit de la Paix et du Développement (IDPD) of Nice University (France). Dr. Veuthey had a long career (1967-2000) with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva as a specialist in international humanitarian law. He worked in many capacities at the ICRC including: as a member of the legal division during the preparatory works and sessions of the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts (1974-1977); as head of the international organizations division; as Delegate General for Europe and North America; as assistant to the ICRC president; Head of Delegation, ICRC Regional Delegation for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (Pretoria); and legal advisor for the 50th Anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He also carried out short field assignments in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Dr. Veuthey holds a bachelor of laws (1965) and doctor of laws (1976) from the University of Geneva. He has lectured widely on international humanitarian law and is the author of a book and many articles on the subject. He was a member of the board of MSF-Switzerland for four years (2000-2004) and was the academic director of the International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), organized in New York, Geneva, and Dublin (2000-2003). He has been the director of the Summer Courses on International Humanitarian Law in San Remo since 2000. He has been president of the Cercle des Amitiés Internationales in Geneva since 2005.

Professor Goran Jovanovic, Ph.D.
Goran Jovanovic is a professor of international relations and unit coordinator at the International University in Geneva. He teaches courses on globalization, geopolitics, decision-making, the nation state, international security, and media. Dr. Jovanovic also works for several international institutions in Geneva. He holds a doctorate in international relations from the University of Geneva. He was previously a director and video producer at the Center for Audiovisual Media and Contemporary History.

Professor Anselm Zurfluh, Ph.D.
Born (1953) and raised in Switzerland, Anselm Zurfluh graduated from the Université de Nice, France in 1983. He holds a doctorate in history on historical demography and mentalities, and in 1991 obtained a doctorate in ethnology on a socio-cultural isolate in a Swiss Alpine Region. His areas of specialization include demography, anthropology, and modern European civilization and culture. His research interests include culture and history, particularly Alpine and European civilization before the French Revolution. He was a professor at the Stiftsschule Einsiedeln from1981-1989 as well as a researcher, editor, publisher, and adviser at the Minister of Educational Affairs of the Académie de Nice. He also served as assistant at the Université d’Avignon (History of Art).

In 2001, Dr. Zurfluh was appointed director of the Institute and Museum of The Swiss Abroad in Geneva. He is the author, editor, and coordinator of several books and scientific publications in German, French, and Italian. For more information on Dr. Zurfluh, please visit: www.penthes.ch/f/diverses/biographiezurfluh.htm.

Professor Jean-Marc Rickly, Ph.D.
Jean-Marc Rickli is president of the Geneva University Strategic Studies Group and program coordinator of the Urban Security Program at the University of Geneva. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil in international relations from Oxford University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Geneva. He is also an adjunct professor at Webster University and held similar positions as adjunct professor at the University of Geneva, the European University, and in the Geneva International Program of Boston University. He has worked as a guest researcher at the Finnish National Defence College, the Geneva Center for Security Policy, the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and the Directorate for Security Policy of the Austrian Ministry of Defense. He is also a first-lieutenant in the Swiss Armed Forces. His research interests are on small states’ security and foreign policy, European security, the use of force and foreign policy, as well as international security organizations. He is currently working on a research project dealing with the links between finance and security policy.

Professor Nidal Salim, Ph.D.
Dr. Salim is director and co-founder (2007) of the Global Institute for Water Environment and Health (GIWEH) based in Geneva. Founded with a group of colleagues and scientists, GIWEH was formed in response to a recognized need for a new, broad-based interest in the interdisciplinary subjects of hydrology, environment, and health, in direct response to the recent, tremendous increases in threats to environmental safety.

Before forming GIWEH, Dr. Salim was involved in collaborations with different research institutes, universities, and international organizations, such as the Middle East Peace Process/Water Working Group/EXACT, the World Health Organization (WHO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP), and many others. Prior to joining the University of Geneva in September 2002, he worked as a director at the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), which involved many separate hydrological projects on local and regional scales. Dr. Salim has an extensive bibliography of publications and participates actively in international conferences and workshops.

A Palestinian citizen, Dr. Salim obtained his undergraduate degree from Damascus University (1993) in applied geophysics; his master’s degree in groundwater hydrology from UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands (1998); and a doctorate in the application of remote sensing and GIS in the water cycle from the University of Geneva, Switzerland (2006).

Colin Archer, Secretary-General of the International Peace Bureau
Mr. Archer is co-founder of the Institute for Law and Peace and has been the Secretary-General of the International Peace Bureau since 1990. He has worked as a peace and human rights activist in many different fields since the early 1970s. He worked as a teacher in Latin America and the Caribbean (1973-4); directed a Third World Centre in Manchester from 1976-83; and was involved in many local and national projects in development education and North-South solidarity work. He holds degrees in European languages and development studies and has taught in community (adult) education for 10 years. He was especially active on nuclear issues in the UK during the late 1980s, particularly with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Dr. Archer has organized a wide variety of projects, publications, and events for, and with, the international peace movement. He has been heavily involved in the World Court Project and Abolition 2000 (coalitions against nuclear weapons), the Hague Appeal for Peace (World Congress 1999), and the Global Campaign for Peace Education. He co-organized a major five-day conference ‘Towards a World Without Violence’, part of the Barcelona Forum of Cultures 2004. He has edited/co-published many books, newsletters, and reports. He is the author of Warfare or Welfare? Disarmament for Development in the 21st Century (IPB, 2005) and Whose Priorities? A Guide for Campaigners on Military and Social Spending (2007). These texts form the basis for the International Peace Bureau’s principal program: Sustainable Disarmament for Sustainable Development. Dr. Archer is the main administrator and fundraiser for the International Peace Bureau. He speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Ph.D.
Catherine Ferrier is a scientific collaborator at the University of Geneva. A graduate of the Universities of Grenoble (France) and Geneva, she initially studied European and international law and international relations. In 2007, she obtained a Ph.D. in social sciences from the University of Geneva. Her thesis focused on the legal and institutional aspects of carbon trading, in the context of climate change mitigation policy. Her recent research focuses on freshwater management and climate change policies. She currently manages a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Corporate Social Responsibility program at the University of Geneva. She lectures in environmental law and policy at the University of Geneva, the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, WWF Switzerland, as well as for the SIT program in Switzerland.

Heikki Mattila, M.A
Heikki S. Mattila has an M.A. in economics and sociology from the University of Helsinki. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. His Ph.D. thesis, scheduled to be finished in 2011, analyzes migration policy discourses and rhetoric in the UK and Germany in the first decade of the current millennium. An expert in international migration, Mr. Mattila combines work experience in government, international organizations, and academia.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Mattila worked in the Finnish Ministry of Labour on migration and refugee affairs. From 1995 until 2008, he worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Helsinki, Geneva, and Budapest on capacity building for migration management in the Baltic States and Belarus; on migration research and in the publications unit at the IOM headquarters in Geneva; and as regional program officer at IOM's Regional Office for Central and Southeastern Europe in Budapest, managing research projects on trafficking in human beings, and on labor migration. Mr. Mattila has worked with the SIT program in Geneva since the late 1990s as a lecturer and an ISP advisor on migration topics. He also served as academic advisor for an SIT post-baccalaureate student in Geneva during the fall of 2009.

Vicente Paolo B. Yu III, Programme Coordinator, South Centre's Global Governance for Development Programme
Mr.Yu’s work includes overseeing the policy research and analysis as well as the provision of technical and legal advice by the South Centre through the Global Governance for Development Programme to developing country delegations on global political, economic, social, and environmental issues (such as United Nations reform, Bretton Woods institutions governance, WTO institutional decision-making processes, the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, human rights, migration, and environment). He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of the Philippines and his master of laws degree (specializing in international trade law and international environmental law) from Georgetown University where he was a Fulbright Scholar. Prior to joining the South Centre, he served as a WTO program officer in Geneva; for Friends of the Earth International (FOEI), and was also a staff attorney and head of research and policy development at the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) in the Philippines. He also taught at the University of the Philippines College of Law and the University of Tulsa College of Law. He has published papers and articles on issues relating to trade and the environment, sustainable development, environmental policy, and indigenous peoples' rights.

Oli Brown, Senior Researcher and Program Manager, International Institute for Sustainable Development
Oli Brown is a program manager and senior researcher at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, working in the trade and investment, and security programs. He also coordinates the Trade Knowledge Network, a network of developing country research organizations working on the ways in which trade and investment policies can promote and enable sustainable development. His main areas of interest lie in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, environmental management, and trade policy.
Oli spent two years in Nepal managing education and environmental projects and a year and a half as a trade policy researcher for Oxfam GB. He has worked on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development report and completed consultancies for the International Organization for Migration and International Alert. In addition, he has written on a wide range of trade, environment, and sustainable development issues. He also organizes and teaches an annual graduate-level course on environment politics at Duke University. In his free time, Oli is a climbing, trekking, and mountain bike guide in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Credits: 16

Duration:15 weeks

Program Base: Geneva

Language Study: French

Prerequisites: Coursework in international studies, political science, or prelaw Read more...