Where will the Tysklandseminar 2026 take place?

The Tysklandseminar 2026 will be held in the city of Berlin, DEU.

What is the primary focus of the Tysklandseminar 2026?

The seminar focuses on German-Norwegian security and foreign policy, as indicated by the event's description.

What is the format of the Tysklandseminar 2026?

The event is described as a seminar, suggesting a format conducive to in-depth discussions and presentations.

Tysklandseminar 2026

Name: Tysklandseminar 2026
Start: 2026-09-10T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-09-12T00:00:00Z
Location: Berlin

Sep 10–12, 2026Berlin, GermanyIn-person

Registration open

The Tysklandseminar 2026 is an upcoming conference held in Berlin, DEU, focusing on German-Norwegian security and foreign policy. This event provides a dedicated forum for discussions and analysis of the evolving dynamics between DEU and NOR in critical international relations domains. Participants will engage with contemporary challenges and collaborative opportunities relevant to both nations' strategic interests.

Committees & topics

Topics
German Foreign and Security Policy · Norwegian-German Cooperation in NATO and Europe · Defense, Industry, and Preparedness · Energy, Climate, and Geopolitics · Democracy, Party Politics, and Young Voices in Norway and Germany

Why it matters

The Tysklandseminar 2026 holds particular significance as it convenes in Berlin, DEU, a pivotal European capital. The focus on German-Norwegian security and foreign policy underscores the growing importance of bilateral cooperation in a complex global landscape. Both DEU and NOR are key players in European security architecture, and their coordinated approaches have broader implications for regional stability and international partnerships.

Understanding the nuances of this relationship is crucial for policymakers, academics, and practitioners. The seminar offers a unique opportunity to explore shared interests and potential divergences, fostering a deeper comprehension of how these two nations navigate global challenges. Given the current geopolitical climate, discussions around security and foreign policy are more pertinent than ever, making this event a vital platform for informed dialogue and strategic foresight.

How to prepare

To maximize engagement with the Tysklandseminar 2026, participants should familiarize themselves with the current foreign policy priorities of both DEU and NOR. A strong understanding of their respective roles within international organizations, particularly those related to security, will be beneficial. Considering the event's location in Berlin, DEU, an awareness of DEU's domestic political landscape and its influence on foreign policy decisions will also be advantageous.

Attendees could benefit from reviewing concepts such as "Dynamic Analysis" to critically assess the evolving security environment and "What Is Stakeholder Mapping?" to identify key actors and their interests in German-Norwegian relations. Engaging with these frameworks will enable a more structured approach to understanding the discussions and contributing meaningfully to the seminar's objectives.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 2 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Germany

A central European power with significant influence in security and foreign policy.

Role in topic

As the host nation, DEU plays a crucial role in shaping European security and foreign policy. Its perspectives on collaboration with NOR are vital for regional stability and broader international relations.

Norway

A key Nordic nation with a strong focus on maritime security and Arctic affairs.

Role in topic

NOR's foreign and security policy, particularly concerning its northern territories and energy resources, is a significant aspect of its relationship with DEU. Its contributions to European security are increasingly important.

Topics & background

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

German Foreign and Security Policy

Germany's post-1945 foreign policy was built on the principles of multilateralism, European integration, and transatlantic partnership, deliberately constraining the country's military role after the catastrophes of the two World Wars. Through the Cold War, West Germany anchored itself in NATO and the European Community, while reunification in 1990 expanded both its responsibilities and its caution about projecting hard power. For decades Berlin pursued what was often called a 'civilian power' approach, emphasizing diplomacy, trade ties, and stabilization missions over combat deployments, while maintaining close energy and economic links with Russia through projects such as Nord Stream. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered what Chancellor Olaf Scholz called a Zeitenwende, or turning point. Germany announced a €100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr, committed to meeting NATO's 2% of GDP defense spending target, ended Nord Stream 2, and became one of Ukraine's largest military and financial backers after the United States. The 2023 National Security Strategy, Germany's first, formally identified Russia as the most significant threat to peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and described China as a partner, competitor, and systemic rival. Under the CDU-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz that took office in 2025, debates have sharpened over how quickly to rearm, how to handle uncertain US commitments under a second Trump administration, how to manage relations with Beijing amid de-risking of supply chains, and how to respond to instability in the Middle East and the Sahel. Germany's choices on defense industrial policy, nuclear deterrence in Europe, and support for Ukraine will shape the European security order for the coming decade.

Key players

Norwegian-German Cooperation in NATO and Europe

Norway and Germany have built one of the closest bilateral relationships in northern Europe, grounded in NATO membership since 1949 (Norway) and 1955 (West Germany), shared democratic values, and deep economic interdependence. Germany is Norway's largest gas customer and one of its top trading partners overall, while Norway has become indispensable to Germany's energy security since the cutoff of Russian pipeline gas in 2022. Defense cooperation has expanded sharply: in 2017 the two states signed a landmark agreement to jointly procure 212CD-class submarines, with deliveries planned through the late 2020s and 2030s, and they cooperate closely on naval missiles, air defense, and Arctic surveillance. Within NATO, Norway and Germany sit on opposite ends of the alliance's northern flank but share a strategic interest in deterring Russia in the High North and the Baltic Sea. Germany leads NATO's enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Lithuania and is permanently stationing a brigade there, while Norway hosts allied training, prepositioned US Marine Corps equipment, and a growing German military presence for cold-weather exercises such as Nordic Response and Cold Response. Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO in 2023 and 2024 has tied Nordic and German defense planning together more tightly than at any point since the Cold War. Norway is not an EU member but participates in the single market through the EEA and has aligned with EU sanctions on Russia and with key parts of the European Defence Fund and PESCO projects. Open questions for Oslo and Berlin include how to coordinate on critical raw materials, undersea cable and pipeline protection after the Nord Stream and Baltic incidents, long-term gas-to-hydrogen energy transition, and how Norway can contribute to European defense industrial capacity without full EU membership.

Key players

Defense, Industry, and Preparedness

Europe's defense industrial base atrophied after the Cold War as governments cut procurement, consolidated suppliers, and assumed that large-scale conventional war on the continent was implausible. Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed severe shortfalls in ammunition stocks, air defense, armored vehicles, and the industrial capacity to replace them at wartime tempo. Germany's Zeitenwende fund, the EU's Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) and European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA), and national rearmament plans across the alliance have since pushed European defense spending to record levels, with NATO reporting in 2024 that two-thirds of allies met the 2% of GDP target. Norway and Germany are central to this rebuild. Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile, Nammo's ammunition production, and Rheinmetall, Diehl, Hensoldt, and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems on the German side are scaling output, often through joint ventures. The 212CD submarine program, IRIS-T air defense deliveries to Ukraine, and the European Sky Shield Initiative led by Germany are reshaping procurement patterns. At the same time, total defense and civil preparedness — including stockpiling, critical infrastructure protection, cyber resilience, and protection of undersea cables and pipelines — has returned to the policy agenda after sabotage incidents in the Baltic and North Seas. Key debates concern how to finance sustained rearmament without crowding out social spending, how to balance European preference with transatlantic interoperability and US suppliers, how to integrate Ukraine's combat-tested defense industry, and how to ensure that small and medium states such as Norway retain industrial niches rather than being absorbed into larger national champions.

Key players

Energy, Climate, and Geopolitics

Europe's energy order was upended by Russia's weaponization of gas supplies in 2021-2022 and the subsequent loss of pipeline imports that had once met around 40% of EU gas demand. Germany, long the largest consumer of Russian gas and the architect of Nord Stream, executed an emergency pivot: building LNG import terminals on the North Sea coast within months, accelerating renewables deployment under the 'Easter Package' legislation, and turning to Norway, the United States, and Qatar for replacement supplies. Norway became the EU's single largest gas supplier, with exports of roughly 87 billion cubic meters in 2023, and a strategic partner in plans for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. Climate policy is tightly entwined with this geopolitical shift. The EU's Fit for 55 package, the Green Deal Industrial Plan, and Germany's coal phase-out target of 2030 (or 2038 at the latest) collide with the immediate need for energy security and industrial competitiveness, particularly as US Inflation Reduction Act subsidies and Chinese dominance in clean tech supply chains pressure European manufacturers. The Merz government has signaled a more pragmatic approach to nuclear and coal bridging while maintaining 2045 climate neutrality targets, sparking domestic political contestation. Norway sits in a unique position: a major hydrocarbon producer funding a clean-energy future through its sovereign wealth fund, a leader in electric vehicle adoption, and a partner on offshore wind, hydrogen pipelines to Germany, and CCS via the Northern Lights project. Open questions include the future of Norwegian gas exports as European demand falls, the geopolitics of critical minerals for the energy transition, protection of offshore infrastructure, and how to keep climate ambition aligned with public support amid cost-of-living pressures.

Key players

Democracy, Party Politics, and Young Voices in Norway and Germany

Both Norway and Germany are consolidated parliamentary democracies with proportional representation, strong party systems, and high levels of civic trust by international standards. Yet both have experienced significant political turbulence in recent years. In Germany, the 2021 traffic-light coalition of SPD, Greens, and FDP collapsed in late 2024, leading to the February 2025 federal election that returned the CDU/CSU to government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) achieved its strongest-ever federal result and the left-populist BSW emerged as a new force. The rise of the AfD, particularly in eastern states such as Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, has prompted intense debate over the 'firewall' against the far right, the role of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and possible party-ban proceedings. Norway's politics have been comparatively more stable but are also shifting. The Labour-Centre minority government under Jonas Gahr Støre has faced declining poll numbers amid cost-of-living pressures, debates over electricity prices and EU energy market integration, and the rise of the Progress Party (FrP) under Sylvi Listhaug. Issues of immigration, climate policy costs, rural-urban divides, and Norway's relationship to the EU mirror cleavages familiar across Europe. Both countries head toward elections — Norway's Storting election in September 2025 and Germany's next federal cycle — with established parties under pressure from both flanks. Young voters in both countries are reshaping the agenda. Climate movements such as Fridays for Future, generational concerns about housing, pensions, and AI-driven labor market change, and high social media engagement coexist with rising support for both Green and right-populist parties among under-30s. Questions of democratic resilience, disinformation, voting age (Germany lowered it to 16 for European elections in 2024), and how to integrate young voices into traditionally consensus-driven Nordic and German political cultures are central to the debate.

Key players