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Nordic Dialogues on Human Security

16 – 17 March 2026 | Oslo, Norway

Hosted by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)

Across the Nordic region, governments are navigating increasingly complex geopolitical, economic, technological and societal pressures. The Nordic Dialogues on Human Security provide a platform to explore how human?centered approaches can support resilience, coherence and long?term stability. The series connects national debates with broader regional and global perspectives, highlighting how human security can complement traditional security frameworks.

For Norway, these discussions come at a particularly consequential moment. Norway is recalibrating its foreign, security, and development policies in response to the war in Ukraine, heightened geopolitical competition, hybrid security incidents, and broader pressures on multilateral systems. As in other European countries, increased defense spending and strengthened preparedness are reshaping national priorities, while debates intensify over how to balance hard security requirements with societal resilience, social cohesion, and the inclusive values that have long underpinned Nordic stability. At the same time, Norway faces questions about how shifts in global power dynamics, donor policies, and value systems influence its role internationally — including how to maintain strong commitments to development cooperation, human rights, and peacebuilding within this changing political environment.

As part of this wider Nordic initiative, the Oslo events bring together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and civil society to consider how human?centered approaches can support Norway’s evolving security and policy priorities. By situating Norwegian reflections within a broader Nordic and global conversation, the Oslo Dialogues contribute to shaping forward?looking perspectives on the future of human security and its role in strengthening resilience across the region.

1. Oslo Human Security Dialogue

16 March

This dialogue gathers policymakers, civil society and research actors to discuss how human security perspectives can inform Norway’s domestic peace, security and societal resilience discussions in a shifting geopolitical landscape and distil insights from Norway’s experience that can contribute to the Nordic and global policy discourse on human security.

Speakers:

• Knut Volleb?k, Chair, UN Advisory Board on Human Security
• Julie Marie Borna Fossem, Director, Center for Defence, Security, and Preparedness, NORCE Research
• Odd Gleditsch, Chief Analyst, Department of Total Defence and Analysis, The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB)
• Eirik Mofoss, Managing Director, Langsikt
• Cedric de Coning, Research Professor, NUPI
• Moderator: Kari Osland, Director, NUPI

This event is available for digital participation via NUPI’s Youtube channelClick .

2. High?Level Dinner

Norwegian Reflection on Human Security in a Changing Geopolitical Landscape

16 March

This closed, high-level dinner brings together senior Norwegian and Nordic leaders for a discussion on how human?centered approaches and the human security approach can guide Norway’s evolving peace, security, and resilience priorities both domestically and internationally especially today’s shifting geopolitical landscape.

3. Expert Roundtable Discussion

Finding the Balance between Hard and Human Security in a Changing Geopolitical Landscape

17 March

Building on insights from the high-level dinner, the aim of the expert roundtable discussion is to stimulate dialogue among Norwegian public and policy institutions about the implications of the changing geopolitical landscape for Norway’s foreign-, development- and defense policies, including reflections on the Ukraine context and broader Nordic/global implications.

The Nordic region is known for its strong commitment to peace, multilateralism, inclusivity, and trusted public institutions, and these values continue to shape Nordic approaches to security amid accelerating geopolitical, environmental, and technological change. They also provide an important foundation for considering how human?centred approaches remain relevant as risks become more interconnected and pressures on governance and societal resilience grow.

Across Norwegian and Nordic institutions, civil society, and research communities, there is sustained engagement in understanding how complex risks intersect—from climate impacts and information threats to the societal pressures arising from geopolitical instability. Norway, like its Nordic neighbours, has a longstanding tradition of integrating national preparedness, social cohesion, and international engagement into a holistic understanding of security. This approach is becoming increasingly important as Norway navigates a rapidly evolving global landscape marked by war in Europe, hybrid threats, cyber vulnerabilities, and strains on multilateral cooperation.

Norway is also reassessing how to balance defence investments with people?centred approaches to societal resilience. Public debates highlight how a growing focus on deterrence and preparedness intersects with questions of social trust, democratic governance, and the values underpinning Norway’s international role, including its long-standing commitment to development cooperation, peacebuilding, and human rights. These debates reflect a broader Nordic understanding that societal resilience, inclusion, and human dignity are central to security, particularly during moments of rapid geopolitical change.

Against this backdrop, the Oslo Dialogues offer a timely opportunity to explore how human?centred approaches can inform coherent, forward?looking security and development policies across Norway and the wider Nordic region.