https://varda.org/en/ Varða is an independent, open Icelandic think tank working to strengthen national security and societal resilience. en https://varda.org/en/news/nytt-timarit-vordu/ https://varda.org/en/news/nytt-timarit-vordu/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Ritstjórn Vörðu Varða, a national-security think tank, has launched the first journal in Iceland devoted to national security and international affairs. The first issue is guest-edited by Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, and contributors include Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Björn Bjarnason, former Minister of Justice; Jenny Hill, Ambassador of Canada to Iceland; Birna Þórarinsdóttir, Executive Director of UNICEF Iceland; and Garðar Forberg, military officer and former representative of Iceland… https://varda.org/en/publications/ad-finna-og-faela/ https://varda.org/en/publications/ad-finna-og-faela/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Elizabeth H. Redmond Drone-related incidents have increased significantly in Europe in recent years, causing disruption at airports, ports and other infrastructure. In 2025, unidentified drones led among other things to airport closures in Denmark and Norway, and similar incidents near Keflavík Airport drew attention in Iceland. The trend has not reversed. On the contrary, recent… https://varda.org/en/publications/allt-er-thegar-thrennt-er/ https://varda.org/en/publications/allt-er-thegar-thrennt-er/ Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT Summary Varða's analysis indicates that over 50% of Iceland's goods imports consist of product categories that can be affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The effects may be confined to price increases, but a prolonged disruption of shipping in the Persian Gulf increases the risk that deliveries of supplies are curtailed, delayed or fail altogether. Accumulated shortages and the destruction of production capacity mean that even… https://varda.org/en/publications/frjor-jardvegur/ https://varda.org/en/publications/frjor-jardvegur/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT The first comprehensive survey of the disaster awareness and preparedness of the Icelandic public reveals that trust is high and attitudes positive, but actual preparedness is weak, especially when disruptions last longer than two to three days. The survey was conducted by Gallup on behalf of Varða in autumn 2025, and the results compared with a European Eurobarometer survey on the same subject. … https://varda.org/en/publications/flotinn-sem-hvarf/ https://varda.org/en/publications/flotinn-sem-hvarf/ Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT In 1987, 39 merchant vessels were registered in Iceland. Today, not a single cargo ship sails under the Icelandic flag. More than 90% of all our trade in goods arrives by sea. This applies not only to consumer goods but to the foundations of Icelandic food production and industry: fertiliser for fields, spare parts for agricultural machinery, feed for salmon farming, and steel and timber for construction… https://varda.org/en/news/flotinn-sem-for-kaupskipaleysi-islands-er-thjodaroryggismal/ https://varda.org/en/news/flotinn-sem-for-kaupskipaleysi-islands-er-thjodaroryggismal/ Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT Today no merchant vessels are registered in Iceland, whereas in 1987 there were 39. All ships operated by Icelandic shipping companies sail under foreign flags — Faroese, Norwegian or Dutch, for example — even though over 90% of Iceland's trade in goods travels by sea. Fuel, food, medicines and building materials therefore arrive almost exclusively on ships over which Iceland has no jurisdiction. It is… https://varda.org/en/news/russnesk-skemmdarverk-innvidir-og-island/ https://varda.org/en/news/russnesk-skemmdarverk-innvidir-og-island/ Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMT A few months ago, Beate Gangås, director of the Norwegian security service PST, announced that Russian hackers had gained control of a dam in Bremanger. The attackers opened the dam and for four hours water flowed out of it at 500 litres per second. Although the attack took place in April, it was not until the autumn that PST could state that Russia… https://varda.org/en/news/stada-islands-i-ognarstridi-russa-raedd-a-bylgjunni/ https://varda.org/en/news/stada-islands-i-ognarstridi-russa-raedd-a-bylgjunni/ Sun, 15 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMT Kristinn Árni L. Hróbjartsson, co-founder of Varða, was interviewed by Heimir Karlsson and Lilja Karlsdóttir on Bítið on Bylgjan about the newly published report on Russian sabotage in Europe. You can listen at the link below. https://www.visir.is/k/c9decc77-18d4-4fb3-8fc7-abeadec53dbd-1770882088400/hver-er-stada-islands-i-ognarstridi-russa- https://varda.org/en/publications/graa-svaedid/ https://varda.org/en/publications/graa-svaedid/ Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMT Europe's security environment has changed significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Sabotage against civilian infrastructure has become a fixture of Russian foreign policy, deployed deliberately in the grey zone between war and peace. The aim is to disrupt the functioning of societies, create uncertainty and raise costs without triggering a conventional military response. A new… https://varda.org/en/publications/brestir-eda-brot/ https://varda.org/en/publications/brestir-eda-brot/ Thu, 05 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMT A summary of a roundtable discussion held on 26 November 2025. Download the Icelandic PDF version here | Download a PDF version in English here Varða, in cooperation with Dagur B. Eggertsson, Member of Parliament and chair of the Icelandic delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, convened a roundtable on 28 January on defence agreements and defence cooperation. In the background were recent addresses in Davos and the tension that… https://varda.org/en/news/varda-skipar-radgjafarad/ https://varda.org/en/news/varda-skipar-radgjafarad/ Sat, 31 Jan 2026 09:00:00 GMT Varða, a think tank on security and resilience, has appointed a five-member advisory council. Varða is an independent think tank working to strengthen Iceland's national security and resilience. Among its aims is to establish a new and independent forum in Iceland for these important but complex issues. Varða's advisory council is made up of highly experienced experts who support the professional development… https://varda.org/en/news/nytt-ar-nyr-veruleiki-nytt-samtal/ https://varda.org/en/news/nytt-ar-nyr-veruleiki-nytt-samtal/ Tue, 30 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT The following article first appeared, slightly amended, on Vísir.is on 29 December 2025. In the year now ending, Europe's security environment changed markedly for the worse. Our neighbours and kindred nations in the Nordic countries were quick to respond. Denmark changed its conscription rules so that women can now be called up for military service on an equal footing with… https://varda.org/en/publications/a-krossgotum-stefna-islands-i-oryggis-og-varnarmalum/ https://varda.org/en/publications/a-krossgotum-stefna-islands-i-oryggis-og-varnarmalum/ Thu, 18 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT Summary of a roundtable discussion held on 26 November 2025. Varða, in cooperation with MP Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, convened a roundtable discussion on Iceland's security and defence policy, held in connection with the visit of Charlie Edwards of the British think tank IISS, who had conducted an independent analysis of the policy at Varða's request. The meeting was attended by leaders from politics, business, … https://varda.org/en/news/eitthvad-hefur-breyst/ https://varda.org/en/news/eitthvad-hefur-breyst/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT When Iceland's most senior leaders speak frankly to the public about how the country is no longer in a low-tension area, that hybrid threats against it are multiplying, and that its infrastructure – especially its undersea infrastructure – is exposed, it is clear that something has changed. The country's location, which once gave a sense of distance and shelter, no longer does. Iceland… https://varda.org/en/news/small-state-big-exposure-international-institute-for-strategic-studies-skrifar-um-island/ https://varda.org/en/news/small-state-big-exposure-international-institute-for-strategic-studies-skrifar-um-island/ Mon, 08 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT Charlie Edwards, an analyst at the British think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), recently published a commentary on the Icelandic government's security and defence policy. The commentary draws largely on work Charlie carried out at Varða's request, with the IISS conducting a comparative analysis of Iceland's new policy in the field. Charlie writes: “Iceland's geostrategic location, once a source of security,… https://varda.org/en/news/ny-iiss-skyrsla-um-oryggis-og-varnarmalastefnu-islands/ https://varda.org/en/news/ny-iiss-skyrsla-um-oryggis-og-varnarmalastefnu-islands/ Mon, 08 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT The British think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has produced an independent analysis of Iceland's new security and defence policy at the request of Varða – a forum on resilience. In its analysis, the IISS assesses the government's new policy as both timely and realistic. The policy clearly takes account of a changed security environment: Russia's unconventional war against Europe, persistent cyber attacks and economic pressure. The policy… https://varda.org/en/publications/samantekt-strategiskar-bordaefingar-fyrir-island/ https://varda.org/en/publications/samantekt-strategiskar-bordaefingar-fyrir-island/ Sun, 30 Nov 2025 09:00:00 GMT Varða – a forum for resilience and the Brooks Tech Policy Institute (BTPI) at Cornell University held an event in connection with the Arctic Circle Assembly 2025 on the usefulness of strategic tabletop exercises (strategic simulations) for Iceland. The meeting was held in confidence under the Chatham House Rule. Key figures from politics, public administration, business and academia discussed how such exercises could be used in Iceland …