New East-West Security: Northern Perspectives

30 January 2009, Kirkenes, Barents Spektakel 2009

The year of 2008 put a strain in the relationship between East and West in Europe. The level of distrust surged and security issues to a new extent came to dominate relations. As we enter 2009, uncertainties about future economic ties, security relations and political cooperation are abundant.
Coupled with rapidly changing international financial realities, relations between the European East and West could today be facing a period of new security challenges, as well as opportunities.
The situation in the High North has not stayed unaffected by the general trends in East-West relations. Still, some see this strategically important region as an area of continued prosperous relations, stability and constructive cooperation.
Some of the questions to be asked in the conference are: What are the new realities in the relationship between Russia and the West? How important is the High North in East-West security relations? What are the possible contributions of the Barents Region in big-power relations?

Key speakers:
DANILA BOCHKAREV, EastWest Institute Brussels
PAAL SIGURD HILDE, Norwegian Institute for Security Studies
HANS KRISTIAN AMUNDSEN, Chief Editor, Nordlys
THOMAS NILSEN, the Norwegian Barents Secretariat
DMITRII TASKAEV, Arkhangelsk regional administration
SERGEY USTICH, Institute of Cross-border Cooperation

Moderator: ATLE STAALESEN, the Norwegian Barents Secretariat

DMITRY NOVITSKY and ANASTASIA DANILINA (Kirovsk):
performance
ICE-DOLBIUS – THE DANGER HIDDEN IN THE BOSOM OF THE SEA
The latest top secret research results prove that there is no such a thing as Global Warming. The greatest danger for life on Earth is a biological species ”ice-dolbius”. The fish population is controlled by the Russian Armed Forces and can be used as a ”climate weapon”…

The Transborder Cafe arranged in cooperation with the Norwegian Barents Secretariat.