Debating Security Plus 2019

Friends of Europe’s unique global online brainstorm, Debating Security Plus (DS+), is the only virtual meeting forum that permits a truly global whole-of-society consultation and gathers a broad range of ideas to discuss some of the world’s most pressing security challenges.

For its seventh edition in 2019, Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and former NATO deputy assistant secretary-general, gathered an exclusive community of hand-picked experts knowledgeable on peace, security and defence who were regularly consulted via online. Our DS+ debates were held entirely online and our experts took part in them from all around the world from their computers or smart phones.

By actively engaging and sharing their expertise in a global debate, our community of seasoned experts and practitioners ensured the highest level of dialogue, helped to formulate concrete and in-depth solutions, facilitated new networks, and proposed options for decision-makers. Outcomes from previous security brainstorms that Friends of Europe has organised have informed the implementation of the EU Global Strategy, as well as the policies of national governments and other international institutions as they shape their approaches to peace, security and defence.

Throughout the year we offered exclusive webinars, live debates and flash-reactions to security-related events with our community on our platform so that they could engage and provide their expertise. This report gathers our community of expert’s thinking and ideas on topics such as:

• The climate-security nexus
• Women in security
• Next level disinformation: deep fakes
• Space: the next frontier?
• Nuclear proliferation and non-state actors
• AI in defence: what would an AI code of conduct look like?
• Hybrid warfare and biological agents: bio-threats and bio-terrorism
• Internet governance and cyber security

We hope that this report will be of interest to you and a source of ideas an inspiration for your own work in these fields.