“Norway Must Be the One to Have Control in the Areas Closest to Russia” Kirkenes (High North News): Russia is rattling its sabers along NATO's borders in the North, and the Norwegian prime minister warns against war and opens up for increased allied exercises in the High North. But both Norway's PM and Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen trust Trump to respect Norwegian game rules.
They Are Practically Stumbling in the Dark, but the Message Is Crystal Clear Comment: The experts who are supposed to inform us about the future in a war-ridden Europe are practically stumbling in the dark. So what are they still trying to tell us?
Greenlanders Vote in a Momentous Election: Six Parties Compete for 31 Seats Today, March 11, the people of Greenland elect their representatives to the Greenlandic parliament, Inatsisartut. In and around the election are major questions about the island's future, both in relation to the Kingdom of Denmark and Donald Trump's USA.
Norway and the UK Strengthens Defense Cooperation: “A New Era” Norway and the UK are coming together to create a new and extensive agreement to strengthen defense and security cooperation between the two countries.
The Defense Analysis 2025: We Can No Longer Assume That the US Is Our Most Important Ally Comment: Lately, we have been bombarded by security policy analyses. They all share some common traits, though. One is that Donald Trump has changed the security policy situation faster than the ink can dry on the pages of the reports. Most recently, it is the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) that struggles to keep up with the US chaos pilot.
Canned Food Is of No Help if Soldiers Must Use a Rail Replacement Bus Service Comment: Both Danish and Swedish intelligence urges the Nordics to prepare for war, while Norway is a bit more reserved. At the same time, Donald Trump is making it clear that the US does not feel obligated to support other NATO countries in a war. How well prepared are we really?
The Political Game Continues Even as the Distinction Between War and Peace Is Blurred Comment: They were supposed to utilize the whole country and create viable communities on the border with Russia. A powerful industry investment would replace measly measures in the so-called action zone. Well, that did not go according to plan. Even after the Norwegian government collapsed, the reversal of adopted policies continues.
The Political Game Continues Even as the Distinction Between War and Peace Is Blurred Comment: They were supposed to utilize the whole country and create viable communities on the border with Russia. A powerful industry investment would replace measly measures in the so-called action zone. Well, that did not go according to plan. Even after the Norwegian government collapsed, the reversal of adopted policies continues.
The Political Game Continues Even as the Distinction Between War and Peace Is Blurred Comment: They were supposed to utilize the whole country and create viable communities on the border with Russia. A powerful industry investment would replace measly measures in the so-called action zone. Well, that did not go according to plan. Even after the Norwegian government collapsed, the reversal of adopted policies continues.
Norway and the US Strengthens Space Cooperation in the High North A new US-Norway agreement facilitates American commercial space launches from Andøya Spaceport in Northern Norway. "A major step toward making Andøya one of the world’s most attractive locations for satellite launches," says the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.
Total Preparedness: When Regional Policy Overrules Security Policy in the North Comment: Expensive and inadequate.That is how the Norwegian Minister of Health, Jan Christian Vestre, described his meeting with the Eastern Finnmark infrastructure the other day. Yet, that is only one of the challenges not addressed in the total preparedness white paper recently presented by his own government.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General: “The Job Did Not Turn Out as Imagined” Oslo (High North News): "The world has become more dangerous and unpredictable. The good news is that NATO has become stronger," says outgoing NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg (65), at his last official meeting in Norway as head of NATO.
Myths of Svalbard Geopolitics Debunked by Researcher Svalbard researcher Andreas Østhagen says certain misunderstandings about Svalbard continue to appear in media and scholarly work, of which the most common concerns Svalbard’s status as a ‘shared space’ or its legal status as being ‘ambiguous.’ He says the Norwegian government’s silence is fueling such misconceptions.
NATO’s New Northern Flank: Norway’s Army Chief Expects Great Responsibility Tromsø (High North News): The bulk of Sweden and Finland's army forces are located in the south, while most of Norway’s land forces are in the north. "These conditions will likely be important in further developing our cooperation," says the Chief of the Norwegian Army, pointing to new requirements and opportunities.
Defense Professor: "We Should Be Worried About Russia if Trump Wins the Election" Bodø (High North News): "We should be worried about Russia if Trump wins the US presidential election," says Professor Håkon Lunde Saxi at the Norwegian Defence University about what he calls a nightmare scenario. "In Trump's next term, no adults will be present."
Norwegian PM Støre: Important to Be a Neighbor That Does Not Offer Surprises Kirkenes (High North News): "I am concerned with us sticking to deterrence and reassurance. Some say we must stop reassuring, but I profoundly disagree," said Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre during the Kirkenes Conference in Northern Norway.
“We Need to Continue Directing the Public Focus Northward” Through many years of work in Eastern Europe, Ingrid Vik observed that people are moving away with the feeling of "the future" being elsewhere. In her new book, she takes a closer look at the Norwegian reality in small towns and districts. She believes that the depopulation, particularly affecting Finnmark, is escalating and dangerous to us as a society.
Believes Norway’s Cautiousness Toward Russia to Be Outdated Arendal (High North News): NUPI researcher Karsten Friis and former Army Chief Rune Jakobsen believe Norway must stop walking on eggshells around the Russian border. "Russia has shown its true self, and we should put aside this fear of provoking them," says Jacobsen. "Too soon," says the Conservative Party's defense policy spokesperson.
Scrapping the Norwegian Base Policy Will Only Make Things Worse Commentary: To claim that the Norwegian base policy has been at a standstill the past years is to overlook that the High North is under constant allied military presence. We should listen to the Conservative Party's Hårek Elvenes before we draw new conclusions.
I Was Not Going to Kyiv, I Was Going to Kirkenes (Commentary) For almost 9 hours, the small Dash-8 plane fought its way through Northern Norwegian winter storms. Three of the said hours were spent in a battle from the plane's parking lot to a petrol pump a couple of tens of meters away. It would have taken me a shorter time to fly from Oslo to New York.
Denmark Wants to Strengthen Foreign and Security Policy Cooperation With Greenland and the Faroe Islands Denmark's new Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen was recently in Greenland to discuss the opportunities for deeper cooperation with his Greenlandic and Faroese colleagues, as well as to participate in the EU Arctic Forum and Indigenous People's Dialogue.
When the War Narratives Are Not Corresponding, It Demands More From Us and Jonas (Commentary) “The war has entered a more serious phase and has moved closer to us,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at a press conference the other day. The message holds gravity and is difficult to convey. Partly because the government’s narratives are not corresponding.
USA Surprises Denmark and Greenland with Billion Dollar Investments in Thule Air Base Neither Danish nor Greenlandic authorities are familiar with the details of the US plans about billion-dollar investments on Thule Air Base in Greenland. The base may get a key role in the USA’s defense against hypersonic missiles.
Fears that a Sharpened Security Policy Debate Climate Shall Deter New, Young Voices Norwegian security policy debate needs diversity of opinion and more contributors. However, the current particularly sharpened debate amongst researchers may scare off new and in particular young potential debate participants, argues researcher and officer Gjert Lage Dyndal.
Arctic Council, EU, NATO on Agenda as Military Leaders Addressed Arctic Security Issues Military leaders from 11 nations discussed current and emerging High North security issues during the annual Arctic Security Forces Roundtable. The participantes discussed, among others, the roles of the Arctic Council, the European Union and NATO.
“Must Strengthen Trust Between the Authorities and the People” The Norwegian Defense Minister has appeared at the NGO Utsyn’s two last dialogue meetings. Utsyn Manager Hedda Bryn Langemyr believes that is a sign that the authorities want a better dialogue with the civilian population.
Russia Wants to Resume Meetings Between Arctic Defense Chiefs “Russia supports resuming the annual meetings of the Chiefs of the Armed Forces in the Arctic states in order to prevent deterioration of the military policy situation in the Arctic”, says Russian Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Nikolay Korchunov.
“New U.S. Administration will Lead to New Demands for Denmark in the Arctic” Denmark as well as other small states in the Arctic should prepare for a broader and more extensive American engagement in the region, says Senior Researcher Kristian Søby Kristensen at the University of Copenhagen.
Shift in US Doctrine Puts Pressure on Norway’s Dual Policy US military activities in the High North can be seen in relation to a new development in U.S. doctrine in which operational surprise is a central element. Researchers say the introduction of unpredictability may complicate Norway’s Dual Policy.
Increased interest in the Arctic: “The U.S. Army has made a significant pivot” There is a pivot in the U.S. Army to train and operate more in Alaska to rebuild skills, according to Major General Peter Andrysiak, commander U.S. Army Alaska. He says the U.S. Army soon will release its own Arctic strategy.
“U.S. Security Policy Change in the Arctic Places Denmark under Pressure”, Says Foreign Policy Researcher “Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands must appear as one unified actor in order to avoid being played against each other by the superpowers”, says Mikkel R. Olesen, researcher on foreign policy and the Arctic.
Political Predictability Going Down the Drain Commentary: Icbreakers with cruise missiles, and American and Russian warships sailing the Barents Sea. Monitoring the militarization of the Arctic is a demanding exercise, in particular after predictability went down the drain when Donald Trump assumed the role as President of the United States.
USA in the High North - A Lasting Engagement As a relatively small state with vast ocean areas and bordering on a great power in the north, it is in Norway’s security interest to secure a close and solid relationship with the United States as well as other allies, and to make sure that these understand the Norwegian worries in the north.
This is Why Finland and Iceland Want Security Politics in the Arctic Council The question is regularly raised off-the-record, though at this year’s Arctic Circle, it rose to the main stage. Many now argue that the Arctic Council should start addressing security policy issues, while others strongly warn against it.
When Arms Follow the Poet’s Words About "Looking to the North", the Arctic Liturgy Should Be Re-Written Just as the church has its own liturgy, meetings about and in the Arctic also follow a distinct pattern. Initially, the Arctic is declared a region of peace. This is followed by a notable pause in order for the emphasis of this message to sink in with the audience.
Security Experts: - The World is Facing A New Era of Signifcant Power Struggles In a recent report published in relation to the Munich security conference, experts argue that the liberal world order appears to be dissolving. – We are experiencing an epochal shift, says the conference’s chairman Wolfgang Ischinger. A new era of significant power struggle between the USA, Russia and China is now unfolding.
Editorial: Security Policy Crofters The dance around Andøya Airport continues, though the dance steps are neither elegant nor in line with the music. Furthermore, it reveals a recurring problem: A lack of defense and security policy competence from a northern point of view.
