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 on the NATO Military Committee.

“Tímarit Vörðu is published to create a forum for informed and substantive discussion of national security in Iceland. This is probably the first attempt to publish a journal in this country focused on these issues and, as far as can be ascertained, the first devoted entirely to international affairs,” reads the introduction to the publication, written by Kristinn Árni Lár Hróbjartsson, co-founder of Varða and editor, and guest editor Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir.

“The publication of printed newspapers and journals is in sharp decline these days. Why, then, launch a publication such as the one introduced here? Our answer is that despite the great advantages of other forms of media, the print publication of carefully crafted columns, articles and essays has a distinctiveness and strengths that no other channel can match. We believe that well-considered thinking about complex subjects requires the deliberation and rigour that are best conveyed in the written word.

A publication such as this is an attempt to slow the pace of debate somewhat, in order to convey deeper and more comprehensive knowledge and thus allow the discussion to mature better than it does through hastily formed statements and superficial clashes on social media, where algorithms dictate the rhythm of the conversation.

The timing matters. Since Iceland became a republic, national security has been all but invisible in public debate, apart from the disputes over our membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This silence on national security has not stemmed from indifference, however, but from the comfortable fact that throughout the republic's entire history there has been consensus and stability around the certainty that no real external threat could confront Iceland. We have lived through an era in which the liberal democracies of the West were firmly committed to standing together to protect one another on the basis of respect for the Charter of the United Nations.”

The journal is published in print, and the articles are also available at https://timarit.varda.org.

Those who wish to obtain the print edition for themselves or their workplace, or who are interested in writing an article for the next issue, can contact timarit@varda.org