News and coverage

Press releases, new publications and media coverage of Varða's work, translated from the Icelandic originals. For regular English-language analysis, subscribe to The Varða Briefing below.

30 June 2026 Tímarit Vörðu, a new journal on national security, launches 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… 24 March 2026 The fleet that left: Iceland's lack of merchant shipping is a national-security issue 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… 16 February 2026 Russian sabotage, infrastructure and Iceland 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… 15 February 2026 Iceland's position in Russia's campaign of intimidation discussed on Bylgjan 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- 31 January 2026 Varða appoints advisory council 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… 30 December 2025 New year, new reality, new conversation 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… 10 December 2025 Something has changed 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… 8 December 2025 New IISS report on Iceland's security and defence policy 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… 8 December 2025 “Small state, big exposure” – the International Institute for Strategic Studies writes about Iceland 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,…

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