Type:: Seminar

Higher Seminar in Statecraft and Strategic Communication | Thomas Jonter

Nordic Security: Deterrence and Nuclear Risk Reduction

Event info

Start time:: 7 October 2026 at 13:15
End time:: 7 October 2026 at 15:00
Location:: Sven-Erik (C445-446), Holländargatan 32

Title: Nordic Security: Deterrence and Nuclear Risk Reduction

Abstract: At this seminar an ongoing research project on Nordic security and nuclear weapons will be presented. The project is based on a collaboration between the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament, Uppsala University, and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Given the new geopolitical changes that have taken place since the Russian war with Ukraine, this research project aims to analyse these changes’ impact on Nordic security. Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO has enlarged the border with Russia, provoking a novel set of challenges for the Nordic states’ security environment. Furthermore, uncertainty over US commitment to NATO and Europe has thrown up intense discussions of an independent foreign policy centred on a European nuclear deterrent. In this space, current trends indicate greater focus on nuclear weapons, and more complex configurations of deployment and readiness, and higher risks of nuclear proliferation; greater arms racing in both the nuclear and conventional spheres. The risks of miscalculations and accidental or intentional escalation, including nuclear use, are increasing. How can and ought the Nordic states navigate in this quickly changing security landscape? This presentation has two aims. First, it will discuss the new security situation in the High North and the Baltic Sea area and its challenges for the Nordic countries, and second, to review the prospects for nuclear arms control and confidence-building among the Nordic states to promote increased security and stability.

Bio: Thomas Jonter is Professor of International Relations and Visting Professor at the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament, Uppsala University, where he leads the working group “Nuclear Disarmament in a Nordic Perspective”. His research focuses on diplomacy, nuclear arms control, non-proliferation, and disarmament. He has been a visiting scholar at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Stanford University, and Cornell University. Jonter is a member of Pugwash Council and chairman of the Swedish Pugwash. In 2015, Jonter served as advisor of Sweden's delegation at the UN Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.