SIKAN 2025: Military Alliances and Collaboration in the Arctic

Nasiffik at Ilisimatusarfik and the Centre for Arctic Security Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College have co-organised this year’s SIKAN. SIKAN is the RDDC’s annual seminar on defence and security politics in the Arctic hosted by the Centre for Arctic Security Studies.

The combat power of the Danish defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic develops in close collaboration with the Kingdom of Denmark’s allies and alliances. At present, the dynamics of Northern and Arctic cooperation are shifting due to great power competition between China, Russia, and the U.S., the Trump administration’s approach to the Arctic and the North Atlantic, the war in Ukraine, and NATO’s enlargement with Finland and Sweden. Currently, NATO is reconsidering its role in the Arctic, while the American-Canadian defence collaboration, NORAD, is undergoing modernisation. The Nordic defence collaboration, NORDEFCO, will likely assume a new role following Sweden and Finland’s NATO memberships.

Investigating these dynamics, this year’s SIKAN seminar will focus on military alliances in the Arctic and North Atlantic to understand the implications for the role of the Danish Defence and its operations. How should we understand the different organisations, and what role do they play in shaping the Danish Defence’s combat power in the Arctic and North Atlantic?

We are pleased to offer a series of engaging talks from eminent speakers, including:

• Commodore Lars Bjerring Ravn Nielsen, Deputy Commander of Joint Arctic Command

• Professor Andrea Charron, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, University of Manitoba

• Associate Professor Rasmus Leander Nielsen, Director of Nasiffik, Ilisimatusarfik

• Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Gram Pedersen, Assistant Defence Attaché, Royal Danish Embassy to USA

• Associate Professor Amelie Theussen, Royal Danish Defence College

• Professor Tommi Koivula, Finnish National Defence University

The conference takes place on 01 December 2025, from 10:00 to 12:30 (Greenlandic time) at the Joint Arctic Command, Aalisartut Aqqutaat 47, 3900 Nuuk.

The event will be held in English, and will be co-hosted and livestreamed between Copenhagen and Nuuk.

Participation is free, but registration is required. Attendance is in person only; online participation is not available. As seating is limited, we encourage early registration.

We look forward to sharing the detailed programme shortly.

Deadline for registration is 27 November 2025.