European Perspectives on Security Research

Europe’s networked societies of today are shaped by a growing interconnection in almost all areas of life. The complexity of our infrastructures and the concurrent accessibility to means of  destruction by terrorist groups and individual perpetrators call for innovative security solutions. However, such evolving innovations inevitably raise fundamental questions of concern in our societies. How do we balance the imperatives of securing our citizens and infrastructures on the one hand, and of protecting of our sacredly held civil liberties on the other?

The topical network ‘Safety and Security’ of acatech – the German Academy of Science and Engineering – invited experts from the science academies of various European countries to share their perspectives on security research and the aspect of safety during a two-day workshop hosted by the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut in March 2010. The result is an overview of various security research programmes in Europe with the aim of revealing both common ground and major differences in security/risk perceptions, cultures and political practices within Europe. This publication is a compilation of contributions made during the workshop.