Can you tell us a bit about you?

My name is Dr Linda Maduz and as a member of the Centre’s Diplomatic Dialogue department, I am responsible for GCSP activities that facilitate dialogue between conflict parties in Asia. The aim of our activities is to inform and support actors engaged in track 1 and 2 diplomacy to develop creative solutions in addressing security challenges, defusing tensions, and building trust and confidence.

Before joining the GCSP, I worked as Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. I received my doctorate in Political Science from the University of Zurich, having previously completed a licentiate degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. My policy and research work has mainly focused on security and foreign policymaking in East and Southeast Asia and the dynamics of political change within the regional states. I speak German, English, and French.

Can you tell us a bit more about your work in Asia ?

Asian geopolitics today are marked by new bloc politics, the continuous threat of an isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea, and an increasing focus on deterrence rather than dialogue, as illustrated by the accelerating arms race. The security challenges in Asia today are particularly acute, making GCSP’s dialogue activities all the more important. This is where the Zermatt Roundtable Process on North-East Asian Security plays an important role, as this process, in partnership with the Swiss FDFA, convenes a Track 1.5 dialogue that enables open and informal exchanges among the countries of North-East Asia, with a view to facilitating contacts among actors with little or no communication channels, improving understanding, identifying ways to reconcile diverging interests, and thereby helping to enhance peace and stability. The question of an “End of War Declaration” on the Korean Peninsula – an issue recently discussed between the parties – had earlier been extensively debated at the Zermatt Roundtable. 

How do you perceive the role of women in our field?

As key and central change-makers! Women play a pivotal role in every society of our world. They therefore have the potential to be crucial agents of peace in armed conflict, yet their role as key players and change agents of peace are often underestimated.

ntegrating women in peace processes and mediations is essential, particularly in Asia. This is why in our activities our objective is to include as much as possible women in the process design of all dialogue activities, including through bilateral meetings, and to incorporate their perspectives. We also encourage parties to include women representatives.