Munich Security Conference 2026
Belfer Center experts convened at the 2026 Munich Security Conference to contribute to the world's leading forum for international security policy.
Explore Belfer work including an official Munich Security Conference side event on Middle Powers and how they are changing the international order; live-streamed video discussions featuring Belfer Faculty and Senior Fellows on geopolitics; the launch of a project exploring transatlantic policy toward Russia; and media interviews live from the conference as our experts provide commentary on the critical security issues of the day.
Mushrooming: Tackling Growing Nuclear Proliferation Risk
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is an energetic, dedicated, and experienced politician... But timing is everything, and his worldview and approach are the opposite of what NATO needs today.
With President Trump and others raising questions about the value of NATO and the extraordinary contribution our allies made in Afghanistan, we thought it important to get a clear statement on the record on how vital NATO is to American security.
NATO is Vital to U.S. National Security
From Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship
Fmr NATO Ambassadors and Generals: NATO is Vital to U.S. National Security
From Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship
At the end of the day, if you are a middle power, you have to ask yourself who is going to have my back if I get attacked.
Photo Gallery: Belfer at MSC in 2026
Belfer Center Director Meghan L. O'Sullivan moderates a panel on the main stage of the Munich Security Conference featuring Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, about the evolving risks of nuclear proliferation.
Graham Allison provided context and insight nonproliferation successes through the decades as well as growing tensions--in particular after the recent expiration of New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia.
David Sanger, Chief White House Correspondent at the New York Times and Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School, moderated the official Belfer Center and Munich Security Conference event on middle powers, exploring such questions as: What are today's middle powers? Are they really in a position to uphold the liberal international order in the face of great power disruption? Can they overcome fragmentation to act collectively, and what does this mean for the future of alliances and great power competition?
Panelists Oliver Stuenkel, Chrystia Freeland, Ivan Krastev, and Ian Bremmer spoke to a packed room at the Bar Montez, Rosewood Hotel.
At an exclusive Munich Security Conference roundtable, Meghan O'Sullivan led a conversation about fortifying energy infrastructure and supply chains.
On opening night: as global leaders, policymakers, and experts convened at a pivotal moment for international security, a conversation exclusive to students of the Harvard community and the Rhodes Trust offered timely insights into the geopolitical challenges at stake in Munich.
Featuring Chrystia Freeland, Wolfgang Ischinger, Graham Allison, and Ivo Daalder.
Recording LIVE! From MSC: Ivo Daalder's World Review podcast recorded just as headlines emerged about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech in Munich. Alexander Ward, Steven Erlanger, and Karin Axelsson joined Ambassador Daalder to unpack the deep tensions shaping today’s geopolitics, revealing why the very foundations of alliances, values, and strategies are being questioned like never before.
Listen to World Review with Ivo Daalder, a Belfer Center podcast, here.
At a Foreign Policy and Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) immersive simulation entitled "Beijing Security Conference: How the Axis of Disruptors Are Seeing the World in the Age of AI,” Meghan L. O'Sullivan joined government, business, and civil society leaders to game out how emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, robotics, and biomedicine, can be weaponized by adversaries to shape the international security landscape in their favor.
Recording Live from the Munich Security Conference
Europe and America are at a tipping point as the rules-based order that has defined the past 80 years faces unprecedented disruption. In this eye-opening podcast episode recorded at the Munich Security Conference, Ivo Daalder, Alexander Ward, Steven Erlanger, and Karin Axelsson unpack the deep tensions shaping today’s geopolitics, revealing why the very foundations of alliances, values, and strategies are being questioned like never before.
