What are current challenges in the Arctic, especially from a Norwegian perspective? How do other countries and actors regard these challenges? This session will lay out operational and policy perspectives.

Chair: Andreas Østhagen, Research Director Arctic & Ocean Politics, Fridtjof Nansen Institute

Political:

• Espen Barth Eide, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Gunn-Britt Retter, Head of Arctic and Environmental Unit, Saami Council

• Ine Eriksen Søreide, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in the Norwegian Parliament

• Michael Sfraga, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, Interim Chancellor, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Operational:

• Eirik Kristoffersen, General, Chief of Defence Norway

• Viktorija Rusinaité, Director of Research and Analysis, European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats

• Maciej Stadejek, Deputy Managing Director, Security & Defence Policy, European External Action Service

• Jørgen Gammelgaard, Special Representative for Euro-Atlantic Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Will there be conflict in the Arctic? Is there already? With whom? Over what? Building on the first session, this one will discuss the Arctic conflict “narrative” and related facts and myths about what happens in the North.

Chair: Jennifer Spence, Director, Arctic Initiative, Harvard University

• Marisol Maddox, Senior Arctic Fellow, The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College

• Pavel Devyatkin, Senior Associate at The Arctic Institute & Higher School of Economics

• Erdem Lamazhapov, Phd Research Fellow, Fridtjof Nansen Institute

• Ulrik Pram Gad, Senior researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies

Do local security interests diverge with national interests? What are “local” interests in the North? How do these differ from the South, and across the Arctic? This session will debate local and regional perceptions of security in the Arctic.

Chair: Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, Professor, UiT: Arctic University of Norway

• Magnus Mæland, Mayor, Sør-Varanger Municipality

• Samuel Pallaq Huyer, NAADSN Research Fellow / Trent University graduate student

• Mikkel Berg-Nordlie, Senior researcher, Oslo Metropolitan University

• Anthony L. Russel, Executive Director, Center for Arctic Study and Policy, United States Coast Guard Academy

What are global perspectives on Arctic geopolitics? Does the Arctic matter to global geopolitics and security considerations? How? This session will tease out how non-Arctic actors view and engage with the Arctic - with a particular focus on India, and how this influence the region’s security issues.

Chair: Andreas Raspotnik, Director, High North Center at Nord University Business School

• Stuti Banerjee, Senior Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs

• Muthu Krishnan, Cmdr, Centre for Arctic Studies, Indian Naval War College

• Sophie Arts, Fellow, Transatlantic Security, German Marshall Fund United States

• Iver B Neumann, Director, Fritdjof Nansen Institute

What solutions exist to manage security issues in the Arctic? At the extreme, how do we avoid war in the Arctic? Building on the previous sessions, this session will examine what solutions, if any, exist that can enable stability and avoid conflict in the region.

Chair: P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Trent University and NAADSN

• Guobjorg Rikey Hauksdottir, Predoctoral Research Fellow, Arctic Initative, Harvard University

• Heather Exner-Pirot, Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute

• Paal Sigurd Hilde, Professor, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies

• Lassi Heininen, Professor Emeritus, University of Helsinki

Do we misunderstand “the Arctic”? What fuels the conflict-driven narratives about the region? How do stories from journalists and analysts drive Arctic security developments? This last session of the conference will examine how local and international journalists approach the Arctic, and their influence.

Chair: Arne O. Holm, Editor-in-Chief, High North News

• Gro Holm, Foreign Affairs Commentator, NRK

• Thomas Nilsen, Editor, The Barents Observer

• Mia Bennett, Associate Professor, University of Washington

• Anu Fredrikson, Executive Director, Arctic Frontiers