On March 1, 2012 the new project ‘Analysis of Civil Security Systems in Europe’ (ANVIL) commenced work. The project is funded under the European Union’s 7th Research Framework Programme for a period of two years. In the face of increasingly transnational risks the installation of effective, efficient and legitimate systems of civil security has attracted growing political attention. States create and use capacities to prevent risks, prepare for crises and disasters, protect societal values and infrastructures and react effectively and rapidly in the case of an emergency. In this context, the European Union plays a growing role in the coordination of national activities that vary considerably with regard to their structure, content, legal framework and practical implementation. However, the quality of different civil security systems and their legal, political and cultural determinants have not been subject to rigorous scholarly analysis so far. ANVIL conducts case studies on a sample of states and regional arrangements with special emphasis on the burden-sharing between public and private institutions.
Moreover, the project develops indicators for the comparative assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of civil security systems. The resulting recommendations for potential changes and adaptations will be disseminated to national and European stakeholders in the course of the project. The IFSH is responsible for an in-depth study on Germany and two desk studies on Austria and Switzerland. Moreover, the IFSH oversees the comparative assessment report on all national case studies. At the IFSH, Raphael Bossong and Hendrik Hegemann work on the ANVIL project.