NorSec 2019

The Youth Atlantic Treaty Association of Norway welcomed youth across Europe to attend the 14th edition of the annual Nordic Security Conference, which took place in Oslo on 30-31 March. The theme of NorSec 2019 was «Challenges in internasjonal cooperation – in NATO prepared for handling security threats in the 21st century?».

The landscape of international security cooperation is changing, becoming more complex and involving new alliances and key actors. For the last 70 years, NATO has been the leading organization for facilitating trans-Atlantic security cooperation. The founding members vowed that they were “resolved to unite their efforts for collective defense and for the preservation of peace and security.” Today, the alliance must confront new and different challenges than it was set out to do 70 years ago. From being initially focused on protecting the sovereignty of member states to today’s out of area operations, terrorism, nuclear proliferation to piracy, cyberattacks, and the disruption of energy supplies.

What factors are contributing to driving the security developments in the 21st century, who are the key players and how can established institutions like NATO face this development? How do we understand how the basic structure of global power undercut or reshape current mechanisms of cooperation?

In 2019 NATO celebrated its 70th anniversary. One of the many questions YATA addressed was thus; is NATO still relevant for handling security threats in the 21st century?

About the speakers