Working Dialogue III: Nordic and public-private cooperation- Economic Security Forum
On October 5th, 2026, the Center for Security and Resilience (CfSR) hosted the third session in the Working Dialogue series as the Economic Security Forum headed to Stockholm. As economic relationships become a source of strategic pressure, protecting that prosperity raises a practical question: How can governments and businesses strengthen their ability to act together?
This question formed the basis of the third working dialogue in the Nordic Economic Security Program (NESPO). With focus on cooperation across Nordic borders and between the public and private sectors, the day held keynote sessions, wargame simulations as well as round table discussions.
The Stockholm meeting built on two earlier dialogues addressing shared understanding of economic risks and resilience within individual companies held in Helsinki and Copenhagen. In Stockholm, the focus moved toward collective action: which capabilities could be developed together, how cooperation could support growth, and where a common Nordic approach could help shape European policy.
An open growth model under pressure
The starting point was a challenge to the Nordic economic model. Openness and deepening globalization have provided foundations for growth. A shift toward strategic capitalism, in which economic relationships are increasingly shaped by security considerations, puts those foundations under strain.
After some welcoming remarks by Professor Martin Carlsson-Wall, director of SSE’s Center for Security and Resilience (CfSR), an introduction by Edward Hunter Christie of the Economic Security Forum, and a briefing on EU-China geoeconomic tensions by Mikael Mattlin of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
These issues span several areas and are often addressed separately: investment, supply chains, technology security, corporate strategy, and public preparedness. The dialogue approached them as connected questions requiring cooperation across organizational and national boundaries.
Putting cooperation to the test
An economic cooperation simulation was the center of the workshop. Co-designed and delivered with Ask Agger, CEO of Workz A/S, it placed participants in an escalating scenario of geoeconomic pressure.
The exercise became a practical setting for examining Nordic cooperation, exploring how cooperation could work under sustained pressure. This brought the discussion closer to the organizational challenge behind resilience: translating a shared understanding of risk into the ability to respond together.
Connecting resilience with competitiveness
The closing roundtable investigated the relationship between resilience and growth. Addressing two areas for further work: practical concepts for public-private cooperation and shared Nordic principles to help shape the European Union’s economic security agenda.
For CfSR, hosting the dialogue created a valuable opportunity to connect research with strategic challenges and the capabilities needed to address them.
