Arctic Security Conference 2025
Managing Polarization and Fragmentation
Oslo, Norway, September 18th
Building on the foundations of last year’s event, the Arctic Security Conference will be held for a second time in 2025. The ASC aims to facilitate in-depth discussions about the underlying drivers and logic shaping Arctic politics, by specifically concentrating on a single issue – security.
This year's conference will be held on Thursday, September 18, with both open and closed events scheduled for Wednesday, September 17.
When: September 18, 2025
Where: “Den arktiske hovedscenen” (The Arctic Main Stage) at SALT, Langkaia 1, 0150 Oslo (next to the Opera House)
Purpose: Contribute to enlightened debate about security policy in the north, dissemination of research
Format: One day with panels driven by conversations. Free entry. Lunch included, informal reception at SALT (academic workshop the day before). Approx. 250 seats + live/recorded streaming
Organiser:
Partners:
Wednesday, Sep. 17
09:30 - 13:00
ASC Workshop
Closed academic workshop. More information
19:00 - 20:00
ASC Pubinar
Open pubinar at Kulturhuset. More information available soon
14:00
tbc
Other events to be confirmed
ARCTIC SECURITY CONFERENCE
Managing Fragmentation and Polarization
Thursday, Sep. 18
Tentative program
State-of-affairs
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 Professor, Fridtjof Nansen Institute & High North Center at Nord University
Espen Barth Eide, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs (confirmed)
Ine Eriksen Søreide, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in the Norwegian Parliament (confirmed)
Eirik Kristoffersen, General, Chief of Defence Norway (confirmed)
Michael Sfraga, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs (confirmed)
Viktorija Rusinaité, Director of Research and Analysis,
The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (confirmed)
Finnish representative (tbc)
French representative (tbc)
Conflict
Will there be conflict in the Arctic? Is there already? With whom? Over what? This session 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
Mathieu Boulegue, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Defense and Security Program, CEPA
Marisol Maddox, Senior Arctic Fellow, The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth
Pavel Devyatkin, Senior Associate at The Arctic Institute
Erdem Lamazhapov, Phd Research Fellow, Fridtjof Nansen Institute
Lunch
Food trucks and beverages
Citizens
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
Sara Olsvig, International Chair of Inuit Circumpolar Council (tbc)
Ulrik Pram Gad, Senior researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies
Magnus Mæland, Mayor, Sør-Varanger
Abbie Tingstad, Professor of Arctic Research, United States Coast Guard Academy
Outsiders
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, and how this influence the region’s security issues.
Chair: Andreas Raspotnik, Director, High North Center at Nord University Business School
Iver B Neumann, Director, Fritdjof Nansen Institute
Muthu Krishnan, Cmdr, Centre for Arctic Studies, Indian Naval War College
Thomas Gomart, Director, Institut français des relations internationales (tbc)
Jennifer Welsh, Professor, McGill University
Kaffe og boller
Solutions
What solutions exists 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 Arctic.
Chair: Svein Vigeland Rottem, Senior researcher, Fridtjof Nansen Institute
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
Attention
Do journalists 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
Katya Adler, Europe Editor, BBC (tbc)
Informal reception
Informal reception and mingling at Bazaar, SALT
ASC Workshop
In connection with the Arctic Security Conference, a closed workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 17. The ASC Workshop will bring together academics for in-depth discussions on selected topics shaping ongoing debates among Arctic scholars.
SALT began as an art project in 2014 on Sandhornøy, Northern Norway, centered around the traditional fish-drying rack (fiskehjell). After several years as a nomadic initiative, SALT found a permanent home in Oslo, where it now represents Northern Norwegian (Arctic) culture and architecture in the capital.
