Vardberg, the IACN, and the University of Akureyri hosted a seminar on Arctic security and defense. The seminar took place both In-Person and Online at the University of Akureyri, North Iceland.The Arctic Security and Defense seminar aims to provide an opportunity to discuss security developments in the High North.Among these are questions about the effects of Russia's escalating conflict in Ukraine on the Arctic. How is Russian military capability, conventional capacity, and core economic and security interests likely to evolve in the Arctic? What are the implications of Finland's (and Sweden's pending) membership in NATO? Considering Norway's chairmanship of the Arctic Council, what role does the council play in ensuring long-term collaboration and security in the region?
The reception was hosted by the Norwegian Embassy in Iceland.
Speaking at this seminar were:
Moderator: Brynja Huld Óskarsdóttir, Specialist at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs where she works on defence and security. After starting her career in broadcast journalism she has spent the majority of her career communicating on topics surrounding human security, terrorism and geopolitics, for example as a Strategic Communications Officer for NATO in Afghanistan and as a campaign manager for UN Women. Previously she has worked as an analyst for Janes Defence Intelligence in London and lectured on terrorism at the University of Iceland.
Opening statement: Tønnes Svanes, Deputy Head of the Norwegian Embassy in Reykjavík since August 2021. He has a MA in social science from the University of Bergen, Norway. He has workeda at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1988, mostly with EU/EEA and economic questions, and has been posted to both the The Hague and Brussels.
Njord Wegge, Professor at Norwegian Defense University College. Wegge obtained his doctorate in international politics in the Arctic at UiTNorway's Arctic University in 2013. He has published scientific works related to international politics and Arctic security, hybrid war and intelligence. In2022, Wegge was a visiting researcher and Chair of Arctic Security at Marine Corps University, Quantico, USA. He was also a visiting researcher at U.C. Berkeley, USA in 2009. Wegge has previously worked as a senior researcher at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (NUPI) and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI). He currently leads several research projects related to security policy and military power in the Arctic.
Matthew Bell, former Commander, Seventeeth Coast Guard District, Juneau, AK, Rear Admiral (Ret.). Joined the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies as Dean on the 25th of April 2022. He is responsible for the executive education program designed with the end goals of protecting the U.S. homeland, maintaining a favourable balance of power in the region, and promoting a shared approach to regional security and respect for the existing rules-based order. His thirty-six year Coast Guard career includes numerous operational tours in Alaska, including two command afloat assignments in Kodiak and most recently as the Commander, 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau where he was responsible for Coast Guard operations throughout Alaska, the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. Dean Bell is a 1984 graduate from Northern Arizona University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He entered the Coast Guard in 1985 upon graduation from Officer Candidate School. He holds a Master of Science in Chemistry awarded by Northern Arizona University in 1993 and is a graduate of Harvard University, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.
Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Professor of Northern Studies and the inaugural Barents Chair in Politics at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). He is the 2022-2023 Nansen Professor of Arctic Studies, University of Akureyri (Iceland). He is a Danish national, who grew up in Reykjavik and has a deep personal and professional commitment to the North Atlantic and Arctic. Rasmus studied in Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Geneva, Lausanne and Amsterdam. His PhD is from the University of Cambridge with a year at Sciences Po. Rasmus was post doc at Harvard, United Nations University (Yokohama) and Aalborg University. Main research interests include international and Arctic order, transnational flows of knowledge between the West and East. Rasmus directed the work package developing European science diplomacy theory and strategy in H2020 InsSciDE.2020-2021, Rasmus was on sabbatical at Sorbonne University and visited Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen, Germany. He coordinates the Norwegian-Russian PhD course Society and Advanced Technology in the Arctic (paused) and the Norway-EU Science Diplomacy Network.
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