WGA 2020 | Austria | Operationalisation

Operationalisation

Question:
What administrative structures and processes are in place to back-up the policies described in the previous section? How does your country operationalise a WGA and with what success? What are the key operational enablers and ‘disablers’ of a WGA in your country?

Austria Expert

Christian Strohal

Senior Diplomat, Austria

Christian Strohal is a senior Austrian diplomat. After having served from 2013 to 2016 as Austria’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, he was nominated to be Special Representative for Austria’s OSCE Chairmanship in 2017. Since retiring, he has been a Senior Adviser to the current Slovak OSCE Chair-in Office and a non-resident Fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD), which is affiliated with Princeton University. From 2008 to 2013, Christian represented Austria at the UN Office, the Conference on Disarmament and other international organisations in Geneva. From 2003 to 2008, he was Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE. Between 2007 and 2012, he also served as an alternate Member of the Management Board of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. Earlier functions include Ambassador for the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights; Director for Human Rights at Austria’s Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs; and Ambassador to Luxembourg. Christian was educated in Vienna, London and Geneva and holds a Dr.iur. from the University of Vienna. He has also held lecturing positions at various institutions and published a number of articles.

Ursula Werther-Pietsch

Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Vienna

Ursula Werther-Pietsch works in Austria’s Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, served as Senior Visiting Fellow at the National Defence Academy, and is one of the founders of Austria’s 3C approach. She is Professor of International Law and International Relations and teaches at various academic institutions, including the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the National Defence Academy and the Bundeswehr University Munich. Prior to that, she was Head of Unit at the Bureau of the Legal Adviser and the Constitutional Service at the Federal Chancellery. Before entering into public service, she was an Assistant at the universities of Graz and Vienna. Ursula is an Adviser to the master’s degree programme of the Academic Forum for Foreign Policy and a Member of the Scientific Commission of the Ministry of Defence. She is founder of the journal Juristische Ausbildung und Praxis and has published widely, including the books Human Rights and Inclusive Societies (2014), International Crisis and Conflict Management (2017), Women as Drivers for Peace (2019), and The Collective Security System of the UN (forthcoming). Ursula studied Law, Architecture and French, and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Graz.

Markus Gauster

Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK), National Defence Academy, Vienna

Markus Gauster has been a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK) of Austria’s National Defence Academy since 2004. He holds a master’s degree in Law and a doctorate in Political Science from the universities of Graz and Vienna, and earned a certificate in Broadcast Journalism from the Danube University Krems. He was also active in the private sector and is a Reserve Officer in the Austrian Armed Forces. His research areas include conflict transformation in Afghanistan, civil-military interaction in peace operations, and innovative concepts for international crisis management (e.g. whole-of-nation approaches for coherent action in situations of conflict and fragility). Gauster undertook fact-finding missions in Afghanistan and its strategic environment, including as a long-term Election Observer for the European Union. He has written various articles and publications, and is a member of the International Society of Military Sciences as well as of the executive board of the Vienna-based Austria-Afghanistan Society.

Hans Lampalzer

Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK), National Defence Academy, Vienna

Colonel Hans Lampalzer currently works at the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK) of Austria’s National Defence Academy in Vienna. After graduating from the Theresian Military Academy in 1991, he held various posts in the Austrian Armed Forces in addition to studying Translation Studies and Political Science at the University of Vienna. He also earned a doctorate in Intervention Research from the University of Klagenfurt, where his studies focused on the links between intercultural questions and security. Lampalzer has lectured to military and civilian audiences at, among others, the European Security and Defence College, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the FHS St. Gallen University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland, and several Austrian universities. He served at the Kosovo Force Headquarters in 2002 and 2003, has experience as an ODIHR Election Observer, and worked part-time from 2008 to 2015 for the Austrian Verification Center, especially in Russia and Belarus. From 2016 to 2017, he was Head of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group under the German and Austrian chairmanship. From May 2018 to March 2019, he served as a Liaison Officer to Austria’s Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. In this position, in the second half of 2018, he served as a National Delegate to the Friends of the Presidency Group for Countering Hybrid Threats while Austria held the presidency of the Council of the European Union. His current research focuses on security-sector reform, and he is also responsible for the implementation of the Ministry of Defence’s contribution to the OSCE Armenia Co-operation Programme.

Austria
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In terms of administrative structures and processes, the formal WGA level coordination/cooperation at the top level is ensured in Austria by the weekly sessions of the federal cabinet – officially known as the Council of Ministers – and, more specifically on security matters, by the National Security Council (NSC). This central advisory body to the government in matters of foreign, security and defence policy is composed of ministers, members of parliament, and designated liaison officers.

In all ministries, intra-ministerial coordination mechanisms exist to discuss WGA-relevant topics, including external conflicts and crises. Inter-ministerial working groups serve as platforms for information exchange as well as the preparation and negotiation of strategies regarding countries, regions or specific topics. Specific coordination units and structures are in place within and among relevant ministries (especially the BMEIA, the Federal Chancellery, the BMI and the BMLV) to prepare coordinated positions and instructions for discussions of crisis and conflict situations in the relevant council.

Regarding crisis management, the formal format of the National Crisis and Disaster Management (SKKM) panel includes representatives from all federal ministries, all federal provinces, and the rescue and fire services (BMI n.d.). Meetings of this body, which is housed within the BMI, are convened in the event of major incidents or trainings. Based on the Ministerial Council Decision of 20 January 2004 (BMI 2004), the National Crisis and Disaster Management (SKKM) framework had been reorganised and put under the guidance of the BMI’s director-general for public security. Supplementing the WGA is the ‘SKKM Penta++’, an informal gathering of the SKKM panel that brings together senior civil servants from the BMI, the BMEIA, the BMLV, the Federal Chancellery, the Vice Chancellery, the Cabinet Office of the head of state, and one of the federal provinces. This group meets regularly (at least once a month) to be briefed on and to discuss related matters, including (potential) external conflicts and crises. Furthermore, procedures related to responding to cyber-crises are regulated by Austria’s Network and Information System Security Act (NISG) (National Council 2018). The tasks within the coordination structures are shared between the Federal Chancellery and the BMI and supported by two (inter-ministerial) coordination committees: IKDOK (Inner Circle of the Operational Coordination Structure) and OpKoord (Operational Coordination Structure) (BKA, BMI, BMLV and BMEIA 2019).

In more horizontal terms, there is extensive formal and informal coordination and cooperation between executive and legislative powers. For example, regular coordination takes place in parliamentary committees (e.g. the Foreign Policy Committee or the Defence Committee). Austrian contributions to international crisis management and peace missions require formal approval by the Main Committee of parliament. Parliamentarians are also regularly involved in annual 3YP preparations, which has led to some criticism regarding the separation of powers.

According to the Austrian Development Act (EZA-G) (National Council 2019) and the updated 2012 Austrian Mission Statement of all stakeholders as an integral part of the 3YP (BMEIA 2019a: 24–25), as well as in line with the Vienna 3C Appeal (ADC 2010), consultation processes are run throughout the year and include NGOs and other Austrian civil society actors. In this regard, since 2011, a 3C conference has been organised annually on WGA-related topics at both the policy and operational levels.

Austria Report