Where will the ASEC Twenty 2026 conference be held?

The ASEC Twenty 2026 conference is scheduled to take place in Kigali, RWA.

What is the format of the ASEC Twenty 2026 conference?

The conference is described as a gathering focused on security and defense, implying a forum for discussions and expert engagement.

When does the ASEC Twenty 2026 conference begin?

The conference is set to begin in early November.

When does the ASEC Twenty 2026 conference conclude?

The conference concludes in early November.

ASEC Twenty 2026

Name: ASEC Twenty 2026
Start: 2026-11-03T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-11-06T00:00:00Z
Location: Kigali

Nov 3–6, 2026Kigali, RwandaIn-person

Registration open

The ASEC Twenty 2026 conference is a significant gathering focused on security and defense, scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda. This event provides a platform for discussions on critical issues impacting global and regional security landscapes. Participants can expect to engage with a diverse group of experts and stakeholders.

Committees & topics

Topics
Land Security: Border Disputes and Territorial Integrity · Sea Security: Maritime Domain and Freedom of Navigation · Air Security: Sovereignty of Airspace and Aerial Threats · Defence: National Defence Posture and Collective Security

Why it matters

The ASEC Twenty 2026 conference holds particular importance given its focus on security in a dynamic global environment. The location in Kigali, RWA, highlights the growing role of African nations in addressing continental and international security challenges. Discussions at this level are crucial for fostering collaboration and developing effective strategies to counter emerging threats.

This event serves as a vital forum for policy-makers, defense professionals, and academics to exchange insights and forge partnerships. The outcomes of such conferences often inform national security policies and contribute to a more stable international order. Understanding the perspectives presented and the agreements reached at ASEC Twenty 2026 is essential for anyone tracking global security trends.

How to prepare

Delegates preparing for ASEC Twenty 2026 should undertake a thorough analysis of the current geopolitical landscape, paying close attention to regional security dynamics in Africa. Understanding the key actors and their interests, as outlined in our "What Is Stakeholder Mapping?" and "Hidden Stakeholders" lessons, will be critical for effective participation. Research into recent security developments and existing cooperative frameworks will provide a strong foundation for engagement.

Furthermore, participants should consider how different countries approach security challenges, drawing on lessons such as "Engagement Strategies" to anticipate diverse viewpoints and potential areas of collaboration or divergence. Preparing to articulate national or organizational positions clearly, while also being open to alternative perspectives, is key to maximizing the value of this conference. A "Dynamic Analysis" of potential scenarios and outcomes will also be beneficial.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Rwanda

As the host nation, RWA will likely emphasize regional stability, counter-terrorism efforts, and the importance of African-led security initiatives.

Role in topic

RWA plays a central role in hosting and facilitating discussions, showcasing its commitment to regional security and its capacity to convene international dialogues on defense matters.

United States

The USA will likely advocate for international cooperation against global threats, promoting democratic governance, and supporting capacity building in partner nations.

Role in topic

The USA is a significant global security actor, often providing technical assistance, intelligence sharing, and military aid to allies, and will likely seek to influence the strategic direction of discussions.

China

CHN will probably focus on promoting its vision of global security, emphasizing non-interference, economic development as a path to stability, and its growing defense capabilities.

Role in topic

CHN's increasing economic and military presence globally, particularly in Africa, positions it as a key voice in discussions on international security architecture and development-security linkages.

United Kingdom

The GBR will likely highlight its role in international security alliances, advocating for rules-based international order, and contributing to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations.

Role in topic

The GBR maintains a global defense footprint and actively participates in multilateral security initiatives, bringing a European perspective and experience in various conflict zones.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Land Security: Border Disputes and Territorial Integrity

Land security has been a central pillar of international order since the Peace of Westphalia codified territorial sovereignty in 1648, yet the post-1945 UN Charter's prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force has been repeatedly tested. The Cold War froze many disputes in place, but its end unlocked a wave of secessionist conflicts (the Balkans, the Caucasus) and revived older territorial claims across Asia and Africa. The 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine marked the most overt European challenge to the post-war territorial settlement, while contested land borders persist along the China-India Line of Actual Control, the Korean DMZ, the Armenia-Azerbaijan frontier, and across the Sahel. The core dispute centers on how to reconcile the principle of territorial integrity with the right to self-determination, and how to police land borders against transnational threats — insurgency, organized crime, irregular migration, and the spillover of civil wars. Land security has also been complicated by the proliferation of non-state armed actors (Wagner-successor forces, jihadist franchises in the Sahel, cartels in Latin America) that erode state monopolies on force without formally challenging borders. Landmines and explosive remnants of war, governed by the Ottawa Convention and CCW Protocol II, remain a chronic threat in former and active conflict zones. Today, the agenda combines acute crises (Ukraine, Sudan, eastern DRC, Myanmar) with structural questions: how peacekeeping mandates should evolve after the drawdown of MINUSMA and MONUSCO, whether buffer zones and demilitarized areas can be credibly monitored, and how border-management technology (sensors, drones, biometrics) should be regulated. Climate-driven pressures on arable land and water are increasingly treated as land-security multipliers.

Key players

Sea Security: Maritime Domain and Freedom of Navigation

Modern maritime security is anchored in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which codified territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, and rights of innocent and transit passage. UNCLOS has nonetheless been strained by overlapping claims and selective compliance. The 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling rejected China's nine-dash line in the South China Sea, but Beijing rejected the award and has continued island-building and coast-guard patrols in disputed waters. Comparable frictions exist in the East China Sea around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, in the Eastern Mediterranean over EEZ delimitation, and in the Arctic as receding ice opens new shipping lanes and resource zones. Beyond sovereignty disputes, the seas face a layered security agenda: piracy and armed robbery (historically off Somalia and now concentrated in the Gulf of Guinea), Houthi missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping since late 2023, sabotage of subsea cables and pipelines (Nord Stream in 2022, Baltic and Taiwan-area cable incidents), illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the use of "shadow fleets" to evade sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil. The International Maritime Organization, regional fusion centers, and operations such as EUNAVFOR Atalanta and the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian have layered onto national navies to police these threats. The contemporary debate is whether existing maritime governance can absorb great-power competition, climate-driven changes in fish stocks and sea lanes, and the militarization of "gray-zone" coast-guard and militia forces. Delegates will weigh stronger UNCLOS dispute mechanisms, protection of critical undersea infrastructure, and the legal status of autonomous and uncrewed naval systems.

Key players

Air Security: Sovereignty of Airspace and Aerial Threats

International air security rests on the 1944 Chicago Convention, which affirmed complete and exclusive sovereignty of states over the airspace above their territory and created the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). For much of the Cold War, the regime focused on preventing interception incidents (KAL 007 in 1983) and hijackings, producing the Tokyo, Hague, and Montreal Conventions on aviation crimes. The 2014 downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine and the 2020 downing of PS752 over Tehran underscored the persistent vulnerability of civil aviation to military activity and the gaps in accountability under the Chicago framework. The threat picture has since broadened dramatically. Armed drones — once the preserve of a few militaries — are now operated by mid-sized states and non-state actors from Ukraine to Yemen to the Sahel, and loitering munitions have blurred the line between aircraft and missile. Air-defense identification zones (ADIZs), particularly China's 2013 East China Sea ADIZ and overlapping Korean and Japanese zones, have become recurring flashpoints. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has produced the largest sustained air-defense and missile-strike campaign in Europe since 1945, while Israeli, Iranian, and Houthi exchanges in 2024 demonstrated long-range missile and drone strikes between non-contiguous states. Key contemporary issues include the integration of uncrewed aircraft into civil airspace, GPS spoofing and jamming affecting commercial flights, the protection of civil aviation from man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) proliferation, and emerging questions about hypersonic glide vehicles and near-space platforms that sit awkwardly between aviation and outer-space law.

Key players

Defence: National Defence Posture and Collective Security

The modern defence architecture was built on two pillars after 1945: the UN Charter's collective-security regime under Chapter VII, and a network of regional alliances led by NATO (1949) and balanced by Warsaw Pact, then later by bilateral US treaty arrangements in Asia and looser groupings such as the CSTO. For three decades after the Cold War, global defence spending stagnated and Western militaries reoriented toward expeditionary counterterrorism. That trend reversed sharply after Russia's 2014 actions in Ukraine and decisively after the 2022 full-scale invasion: NATO admitted Finland and Sweden, European states pledged to meet or exceed the 2% of GDP benchmark, and Japan adopted a new National Security Strategy doubling its defence budget. The core defence debate today is how to balance deterrence against revisionist powers with the management of escalation risks, particularly in the nuclear domain. The New START treaty between the US and Russia is set to expire in February 2026 with no successor agreed, leaving the world without bilateral strategic-arms limits for the first time since 1972. China's nuclear expansion, North Korea's continued testing, and Iran's advancing enrichment add further pressure on the NPT regime. Simultaneously, defence has expanded beyond kinetic forces to encompass cyber, space, and the resilience of supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and munitions production. Delegates will engage questions of burden-sharing within alliances, the legitimacy and limits of collective self-defence under Article 51, the regulation of private military companies after the Wagner experience, and how middle and smaller powers can build credible deterrence without triggering arms-race spirals.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for ASEC Twenty 2026.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

Arming an archipelago: Is time running out for Europe's oldest DMZ? | Euronews

Comprehensive approach to security: Federal Council launches consultation on Switzerland's security policy strategy

Georgia Considers Position in New South Caucasus Transit Era - Jamestown

North Korea's Nuclear Navy Developments

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

By committee

Frequently asked questions

ASEC Twenty 2026

Nov 3–6, 2026Kigali, RwandaIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
Land Security: Border Disputes and Territorial Integrity · Sea Security: Maritime Domain and Freedom of Navigation · Air Security: Sovereignty of Airspace and Aerial Threats · Defence: National Defence Posture and Collective Security

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Rwanda

As the host nation, RWA will likely emphasize regional stability, counter-terrorism efforts, and the importance of African-led security initiatives.

Role in topic

RWA plays a central role in hosting and facilitating discussions, showcasing its commitment to regional security and its capacity to convene international dialogues on defense matters.

United States

The USA will likely advocate for international cooperation against global threats, promoting democratic governance, and supporting capacity building in partner nations.

Role in topic

China

CHN will probably focus on promoting its vision of global security, emphasizing non-interference, economic development as a path to stability, and its growing defense capabilities.

Role in topic

CHN's increasing economic and military presence globally, particularly in Africa, positions it as a key voice in discussions on international security architecture and development-security linkages.

United Kingdom

The GBR will likely highlight its role in international security alliances, advocating for rules-based international order, and contributing to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations.

Role in topic

The GBR maintains a global defense footprint and actively participates in multilateral security initiatives, bringing a European perspective and experience in various conflict zones.