CENTREPEACE and PRIO Organised European Security Week in Oslo

From 18 to 22 May 2026, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) hosted European Security Week, organised in cooperation with the CENTREPEACE project. The week combined public discussions, expert exchange, matchmaking, and internal consortium meetings, creating a space to reflect on the changing security landscape in Europe and the role of research in understanding and addressing it.

European Security Week

The public part of the programme brought together researchers and experts to discuss several key issues shaping Europe’s security environment. It opened with a discussion on Norway’s role in a rapidly evolving European security landscape, focusing on societal resilience, shifting alliances, technological change, and lessons from Ukraine. The debate then moved to the wider European context, with panels dedicated to European rearmament, the future of Europe’s defence-industrial base, and strategic choices in the areas of technology, energy, and diplomacy.

A central theme of the week was the need to rethink European security beyond traditional military perspectives. The discussions explored how Europe is responding to Russia’s war against Ukraine, changing transatlantic relations, energy dependencies, and the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and drones. These questions are closely connected to the work of CENTREPEACE, which focuses on security cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe and on the ways academic research can contribute to better policy understanding.

The programme also addressed cognitive threats and democratic resilience. Experts discussed how states and other actors use information, psychological tools, digital networks, manipulated content, and artificial intelligence to influence public debate and undermine trust in democratic institutions. This was followed by discussions on the broader struggle for influence between Russia and the European Union, including how competing visions of political order shape the future of Europe’s neighbourhood.

The final public panels focused on the internal drivers of Russian policy toward Europe and on critical approaches to international security and technology. These discussions linked Russia’s external behaviour to its domestic political structures, elite competition, economic constraints, and the use of propaganda and energy leverage. They also showed how critical perspectives can broaden the way we understand security, technology, and power in contemporary international relations.

Matchmaking

Alongside the public programme, CENTREPEACE organised a matchmaking session focused on security dynamics in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. The aim was to create space for researchers and invited experts to identify shared interests, discuss possible cooperation, and explore ideas for future joint projects.

The matchmaking session began with a structured discussion moderated by a facilitator, who guided participants through key themes related to security dynamics in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. This was followed by an open networking discussion that allowed participants to exchange ideas more freely, identify shared interests, and explore possibilities for future cooperation. The format helped connect the broader debates on European security with concrete opportunities for collaboration and supported one of the broader goals of CENTREPEACE: strengthening research networks between partner institutions and expanding cooperation beyond the project consortium.

RMA Breakfasts

The programme also included two activities framed as RMA Breakfasts, focusing on the practical side of research cooperation, dissemination, and consortium work.

The first discussion, titled “From Paper to Practice: Promoting Research to Stakeholders,” addressed how academic research can be translated into formats that are useful beyond academia. The session brought together different perspectives — from research managers and administrators, researchers, and a Member of the European Parliament — to discuss how research results can reach policy audiences and other stakeholders more effectively. The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of different audiences and of presenting research findings in ways that can contribute to public and policy debates.

The second RMA Breakfast-style roundtable, “Cooperation as the Baseline: Understanding the Dynamics in the European Project Consortium,” focused on the internal functioning of international research consortia. The discussion combined the perspective of research management, represented by the project manager of MIGNEX, with the perspective of a researcher and work package leader. Together, they reflected on how cooperation works in practice, how responsibilities can be shared across institutions, and what helps large European research projects function effectively over time.

Interim Meeting

The week also included an internal CENTREPEACE interim meeting, during which project members reflected on progress achieved so far and discussed the next steps. Focus groups presented updates on their activities, including ongoing publications, conference plans, stakeholder engagement, mobility visits, and future project development.

An important part of the meeting was the planning of future dissemination and stakeholder activities, including events in Brussels and Central and Eastern Europe. These discussions helped connect the research work of the individual focus groups with the project’s broader communication, dissemination, and impact goals.

European Security Week demonstrated the importance of connecting academic research with current public and policy debates. By bringing together public panels, expert discussions, matchmaking, RMA Breakfasts, and internal project planning, the event strengthened cooperation between PRIO, Masaryk University, and the Aleksanteri Institute. It also highlighted the contribution of social science research to understanding the complex security challenges facing Europe today.