T H E CON T RI B U T I O NS OF INT E LLIG E NCE TO T H E SE CUR IT Y OF SWIT Z E R L AND ʻThe world is out of joint!ʼ the media as well as politicians often use this phrase to describe the current international order – or disorder. Our security environment has become more fragmented and more complex and thus more difficult to assess. The significant increase in the number of non-state actors, the possibilities of hybrid warfare, the return of power politics, in some cases with a marked tendency toward unilateralism, heightened tensions between the Western states and Russia, as well as the political and economic challenges in European countries are all part of a situation that increasingly difficult to grasp. The old order is changing under the pressure exerted by political, economic, military but also technological, social and cultural forces. The outcome of these changes is uncertain. In this world of insecurity and growing uncertainty, the intelligence service is becoming increasingly important. Its anticipation and early detection capabilities are needed in order to identify and assess threats in good time and – where opportune – to take preventive measures. The intelligence picture of the overall situation, pieced together from countless fragments, is a key element in the decision making of those responsible for security policy. With its new design and simpler layout, this yearʼs annual report of the FIS presents to the interested members of the public the major developments from an intelligence point of view. In each section, the FIS details its observations on the issue in question and states what it expects to happen. A new ʻkey figuresʼ section contains information and data, which were previously published in the Federal Councilʼs annual report. It also contains the key figures on intelligence-gathering measures requiring authorisation. These figures show that such measures, which are particularly restrictive in terms of fundamental rights, remain focused on combating terrorism and illegal intelligence. I hope that this yearʼs situation report of the FIS will again be of interest to a wide audience. Viola Amherd, Federal Councillor Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS SIT UAT ION R E PORT 2 0 1 9 | FIS 7