Resilience as a deterrent - NATO's and the EU's requirements and expectations for Danish resilience
NATO's and the EU's requirements and expectations for Danish resilience
It is the first publication in a series of analyses that the Centre for Societal Security and Resilience (SECURE) will publish in the coming years.
With this written contribution, we want to strengthen the public and strategic conversation about Denmark's societal security – and contribute with research-based knowledge that makes a difference in practice. In a time characterized by security policy instability, hybrid threats and increased demands from both NATO and the EU for national resilience, it is crucial that we get a clearer view of what resilience means in a Danish context – and how we can translate ambitions into concrete capacity building. This report does just that: It reviews the key requirements and expectations, analyses their significance for Denmark and points to key dilemmas and development opportunities.
The authors of the report, Iben Bjørnsson and Rasmus Dahlberg, make us wiser about the historical differences and similarities between post-war civil preparedness, the Cold War's total defence thinking and today's whole-of-society approach to societal security. They show how resilience is not just a technical or administrative concept, but a strategic key element in our overall security policy – and how Denmark today must define and operationalise resilience as more than robustness and sector responsibility.
The report can be read at SECURE_Rapport_1_RUC_sep_2025.pdf
About SECURE
The Centre for Societal Security and Resilience (SECURE) works to promote knowledge sharing and innovation in societal security. Our goal is to support policymakers, researchers and practitioners in developing strategies that can meet today's complex challenges. We believe that cooperation and dialogue are the keys to ensuring a secure future for Denmark.
For more information about our work and upcoming publications, please visit our website.