Date 12-13 November 2015

Location Aarhus University (Main Hall)/Concert Hall Aarhus

Activity Interdisciplinary MatchPoints Seminar on Security and Governance in the Globalised Arctic – Nordic and international perspectives

The Arctic region has risen on the global agenda during the last two decades. As the ice is thinning and shrinking, it is opening the Arctic for more activity – including the extraction of oil and gas, sea transportation, fishing, mining and energy intensive industries – but also challenging the military, environmental, social and human security of the Arctic region and its peoples. Therefore it is important to examine the background and conditions for Arctic cooperation on matters of security and governance, including issues of sovereignty, self-determination and social, economic and environmental sustainability, and human security.   

The 2015 MatchPoints Seminar in November will provide a forum for policy-makers and academics to deliberate on how the security, resilience and sustainability of the globalized Arctic region and its peoples may be enhanced, and what instruments of governance may most suitably contribute. The conference will also focus on (1) how the different relevant dimensions of security (military, economic, environmental, energy and human security) manifest themselves in the governing / governance arrangements in the Arctic; (2) how the challenges associated with each manifest themselves, individually and together; and  (3) what forms of governing arrangements can best help to address the challenges. The conference will also focus on (4) how the Nordic countries and nations, including Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Aaland Islands, may contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Arctic region through collaborative efforts based on their shared social, human, environmental and democratic values. 

Invited plenary speakers and debaters
As usual, we have invited a number of excellent and internationally recognised speakers:
Danish Minister of Defence, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Danish Arctic Ambassador Erik Vilstrup Lorentzen, Prof. Michael Byers (University of British Columbia), Prof. John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago), Prof. Rob Huebert (University of Calgary), Prof. Alexander Sergunin (University of St. Petersburg), Prof. Lassi Heininen (University of Lapland), Prof. Kirstine Offerdal (Norwegian College of Defence Studies), Prof. Minik Rosing (Copenhagen University), Prof. Stephane Roussel (École nationale d’administration publique, Montreal), Prof. Steven Miller (Harvard University), Prof. Anders Mosbech (Aarhus University), Prof. Ellen Margrethe Basse (Aarhus University), Prof. Søren Rysgaard (Aarhus University/Manitoba), Prof. Rane Willerslev (Aarhus University), Assistant Prof. Cécile Pelaudeix (Aarhus University), Prof. Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen (University of Tromsø), Prof. Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv (University of Tromsø), former foreign minister Uffe-Ellemann-Jensen, former foreign minister Holger K. Nielsen, former foreign minister Per Stig Møller, member of the Nordic Council Presidium Bertel Haarder, Nils Wang (Royal Danish Defence College), Senior Researcher Hans Mouritzen (DIIS), Security Politics Commentator Tage Baumann (DR), Foreign Editor Anna Libak (Berlinske Tidende), member of the Greenland Parliament (IA) Sara Olsvig, Assistant Prof. Jon Rahbek Clemmensen (University of Southern Denmark), MF former minister Søren Pind (V), John Erik Fossum, University of Oslo. A number of other distinguished speakers have been invited to contribute to the panels and workshops.

Call for proposals and abstracts
Proposals and abstracts must be submitted by June 15 2015 at the latest. Proposals should be sent directly to the organizer of the relevant workshop or panel. Length of submissions cannot exceed 300 words and must include submitter’s contact details in the document.

Practical information
For more information and registration go to www.matchpoints.au.dk or contact director of the MatchPoints Seminars Michael Böss at engmb@dac.au.dk or mobile +45 2093 4818.

Hosts, organizers and institutional partners
The conference is part of the official programme of the Danish government on occasion of the Danish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2015. The conference is hosted by Aarhus University and the City of Aarhus and organized by a number of Nordic universities, research academies and is part of the GlobalArctic Project of the Northern Research Forum. Among its institutional partners are also the Danish ministries of foreign affairs, defence and research, the Danish parliament and the Nordic Council of Ministers.