Internasjonalt seminar:
Deterrence or Reassuranse? Nuclear Weapons and Security in the North

 In 2019, the Tromsø City Council decided to support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, an important milestone in the work for a world free of nuclear weapons. So far, 122 countries have joined the UN treaty, while Norway has observer status.

The tension between the nuclear powers USA and Russia is increasing in the northern region, with ongoing escalation and modernization of nuclear weapons. Norway and the Nordic countries find themselves in the crossfire between the Russian nuclear weapons placed on the Kola base and the weapons linked to American submarines and bombers stationed in the region. This year, the Norwegian Parliament has approved American access to eight new military bases in Norway. In total, there are now 44 American military bases in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In this context, Tromsø is also affected as a port for submarines that can carry nuclear warheads.

To what extent are we witnessing an escalation of nuclear weapons between Russia and the United States in the Arctic?

Norwegian foreign policy since the post-war period has been based, among other, on the Bratteli Doctrine, which has been critical of nuclear weapons and foreign military presence on Norwegian territory. Are such doctrines no longer valid? Why?

How should we strengthen our security in the face of tensions between the nuclear powers? How can Norway and the Nordic countries reclaim the low-tension policy and initiate disarmament negotiations?

SPEAKER
Tytti Erästö - Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Thomas Birkeland, City Council Member for the Labour Party (AP).

Mathilde Hamre, Medical Student and Board Member of
Physicians Against Nuclear Weapons.

Håkon Elvenes, Member of No to Nuclear-Powered Military Vessels in Tromsø.

MODERATOR
Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Professor of Northern Studies and the inaugural Barents Chair in Politics The Arctic University of Norway.

The seminar will be in English!