As we gather for the 51st Munich Security Conference, a particularly difficult year in international
security policy lies behind us. Over the past twelve months, numerous crises have developed into crucial challenges and threats to international peace and security in ways that many decision makers and analysts did not see coming. And, what is more, these crises have exposed worrisome cracks in the international order and shed light on the shortcomings of existing collective security mechanisms and structures.

The document you are holding in your hands, the first edition of the Munich Security Report (MSR), is designed to help us make sense of current developments. It assembles material from many different sources and is an edited selection – heavy on graphics, charts, and maps – of some of the most interesting analytical and research work from the past year in key areas of the international security agenda. It also includes brief summaries of critical security debates, including some of the most poignant quotes of the last twelve months.