Sicherheit 2016. Aussen-, Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitische Meinungsbildung im Trend.

Ref. 12900

Methods

Method description

General methodical procedure for trend surveys based on annually repeated cross-sectional surveys. The questionnaire consists of three parts: a) Questions asked annually, (b) questions raised at irregular intervals, c) and new questions. Questions on the distribution of tasks between the police and private security companies, the assessment of contact with the police and private security companies, the fear of crime, the subjective feeling of security in public areas, open question as to which tasks the Swiss army should fulfil from the point of view of the Swiss electorate, and some questions on measures to maintain internal security were raised for the first time in 2016. For this reason, a quantitative pretest was carried out and it was of interest whether the respondents were able to answer the questions. Following the pretest, the question formulations were optimized. Finally, to check the comprehensibility of all questions and interviewing before the field phase, test interviews were conducted in the different national languages. The questionnaires were designed in German and then translated into French and Italian. The Helvetic question formulations were deliberately chosen, as the interviews in German-speaking Switzerland were mostly conducted in Swiss-German (mouth type). The attitudes surveyed here may have been influenced by the following five events: • The ongoing crisis in the Ukraine, which began in autumn/winter 2013 and has continued into 2015/2016. • The refugee crisis in Europe, caused by the civil war in Syria and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. • The increased threat of terror in Europe, caused by the Islamist-motivated terror attacks in Paris (7 January 2015, 13 November 2013). • The sexual assaults against women on New Year’s Eve 2015 by young men of Muslim origin in several German cities. • From 20 – 23 January, 2016, the armed forces carried out a subsidiary WEF deployment for the benefit of the civil authorities of the Canton of Grison in Davos.

Method (instruments)