How is Europe’s security being shaped as the world keeps changing?

War in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and genocide in the Middle East remind us that security policy is about more than diplomats and the military - it affects us all. This fall, UiB is launching the course European Security Transformation, where students will have the opportunity to analyze historical patterns and understand today’s crises, together with professionals and practitioners who make decisions in the field every day.

As Jørn Qviller, Head of the Military Strategy Department in the Norwegian Armed Forces Staff and lecturer in European Security Transformation, emphasizes:

“It is more important than ever to understand the times we live in and how Norway should safeguard its sovereignty. That requires historical knowledge, but also imagination to develop possible scenarios for the future.”

From historical perspective to current challenges

The course was developed in spring 2023, during a dramatic security situation. Russia’s war against Ukraine had been ongoing for a year, and political changes in the United States were reshaping Europe’s strategic landscape.

“When I started developing this course in spring 2023, the security situation was already extremely serious. Together with Terje Knutsen, I have continually adjusted the content to reflect new crises and shifting perspectives. Students will therefore meet lecturers who not only provide historical context but also link the material directly to today’s pressing challenges,” Andrea Mevold Zakariassen, university lecturer at UiB, says.

Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, researcher Marianne Riddervold, and Senior Investment Stewardship Manager at the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, Vaishali Lara Kathuria, will give lectures in the course European Security Transformation. Together, they bring a unique combination of policymakers working daily with foreign affairs and academics conducting cutting-edge research on geopolitics. This provides students with truly exceptional insight into European security.

We asked the lecturers why they chose to get involved in this course-and what they want students to take away from it. Former Chief of Defence, Sverre Diesen, stresses:

“Europe is facing its greatest strategic transformation since World War II. In that perspective, a course like European Security Transformation is of course highly relevant.”

Tom Røseth explains:

“There is a great need for better understanding of the shifting security landscape as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine and other key drivers in the U.S., China, and the Middle East. Norway and Europe are facing lasting changes that will affect all sectors of society in the years ahead.”

Learn from experts – understand tomorrow’s Europe

The lecturers combine present-day analysis with historical context. Sidsel Wold, foreign correspondent and NRK’s Middle East reporter, says:

“Israel has dominated the news for almost two years. But understanding Israel from the inside is just as important, since the strong internal tensions have shaped Netanyahu’s policies.”

Bjørn Tore Saltvik, consultant and security advisor with a background from the OSCE, adds:

“With an ongoing and brutal war of aggression on the European continent, and an international security climate where predictability, stable alliances, and trust between key actors are in short supply, we need both the ability to think in new ways and the willingness to use unconventional forms of cooperation.”

Throughout the course, students follow the principle emphasized by Jørn Qviller: the understanding of our times must be combined with historical insight and the ability to imagine future scenarios. European Security Transformation therefore provides critical understanding, insight into global dynamics, and the ability to ask the questions that shape Europe’s security today and in the future.

In addition to the lecturers mentioned here, the course offers lectures from the following scholars and practitioners

• Terje Knutsen
• Cæcilia van Peski
• Andrea Mevold Zakariassen
• Vaishali Kathuria
• Synnøve Nesse
• Hilde Restad
• Hans Jørgen Gåsemyr
• Øystein Bogen
• Mina Wikshåland Skouen
• Marte Skogen
• Tom Røseth
• Margareth Hagen
• Hein van Ameijden
• Ton van Loon
• Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv
• Christine Reinboth
• Åse Østensen
• Nina Mevold
• Marianne Riddervold
• Tor Ivar Strømmen
• Michel Myhre-Nielsen

Join in, learn from the best, and discover how Europe’s security is being shaped right now. There are still places available. Apply here!