Part of our research in the period 2024 to 2026 will be organised in four working groups. They focus on horizontal topics, allowing us to draw together diverse expertise and perspectives from across SWP’s research divisions. The horizontal topics embrace fundamental questions of great complexity and political urgency. Our research will explore interconnections, impacts, conflicts of goals and options for action. The horizontal topics form part of SWP’s current framework for research (in German only). In this document SWP outlines issues and challenges facing German foreign and security policy and why and how to address them.