Civil Security in Germany

On December 11, 2014, AGI and the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS) hosted a roundtable discussion led by Dr. Tim Stuchtey, BIGS Executive Director, on “Civil Security and the Private Security Industry in Germany.”

In recent years, questions of civil security have become increasingly prominent on the economic and political agenda of Germany. The security industry is growing and changing quickly, driven by new challenges like cyber-crime and an increasing demand for innovative security solutions. BIGS has analyzed these trends for almost three years as part of a research project entitled “A System of Economic Indicators to Measure Security and Security Provision in Germany (WISIND).” Results of this research were presented at the luncheon.

In Germany, the growth of the security industry is accompanied by a growing awareness among political decision-makers of the challenges and opportunities of civil security and the related policies. One prominent example is the recent debate about the conversion of the German defense industry toward homeland security products and services. This leads to the question of whether the security industry in Germany has the potential to become a “trend industry.”

Dr. Tim Stuchtey is the Executive Director of the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS) in Potsdam, Germany, since 2010. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at AGI. Dr. Stuchtey earned his PhD in economics from the Technische Universität Berlin in 2001. His research focuses on the economics of security as well as economic policy and the German “Ordnungspolitik.”

Please contact Ms. Kristin Krueger kristin.krueger@bigs-potsdam.org with any questions.