Since the end of the Cold War and the attacks in New York, Washington, London and Madrid, the security challenges facing liberal democracies have changed dramatically. New directions in internal and external security policy have affected a variety of areas. These include classical civil liberties, the federal nature of the German republic, classical foreign policy and international law, international trade policy, the protection of critical infrastructure, and relations between different religions and immigrant groups.
BIGS’ research will focus on how society perceives and deals with risk. The philosophical, cultural, economic and political backgrounds and contexts of these threats shall also be analyzed. In particular, this research seeks to develop policy strategies that will help us to overcome the existing triangle of tension between freedom, security and social justice, in which an increase in one of these factors comes at the expense of the others. Research at BIGS will investigate the following themes, among others:

• The historical development of security policy;
  
• The social and economic dimension of security policy;
  
• Values, ethics and cultural norms in respect to security issues and their implications for security technology and policy;
  
• How public authorities and the broader society react to and deal with catastrophe;
  
• The role of the state and its political-geographic subdivisions in security policy; and
  
• The blurring of the separation between domestic and international security.

Specific research projects will be developed in concert with the institute’s advisory board, which will also help to identify new themes. At the same time, BIGS will seek to secure research grants and external funding for projects in the field of civil security.

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