“Total defense”: Norway prepares its population for war

Beneath the quiet green spaces of Oslo lies a very different reality. In St. Hanshaugen, one of the largest air raid shelters in the Norwegian capital could accommodate up to 1,100 people behind imposing metal doors in the event of an attack. A Spartan place, designed to resist possible bombings and nuclear, radiological, biological or chemical (NRBC) threats, reports AFP.

Long relegated to the past after the end of the Cold War, these infrastructures are today returning to the heart of the Scandinavian kingdom’s concerns in the face of fears of conflict with its Russian neighbor. NATO member, Norway wishes to reintroduce the obligation to integrate shelters into new large buildings, a rule abandoned in 1998 in a context of geopolitical optimism after the collapse of the USSR The country currently has nearly 18,600 shelters, covering less than half of its population, estimated at 5.6 million inhabitants. « Many need to be modernized: they were built during the Cold War, are damp, old…underlines to AFP Oistein Knudsen, head of the Norwegian Civil Defense

The objective is not to build ultra-modern and expensive infrastructures, but to have simple protections capable of responding to new forms of threats observed in contemporary conflicts, in particular the massive use of drones. The lessons learned from the war in Ukraine also play a central role in this new security doctrine. « My Ukrainian colleagues are waging an existential war on their own territory, and yet they still find time to share their experiencesunderlines Oistein Knudsen. Just listening to them talk about what they’re going through, the attacks on the civilian population, what it means to operate as a civil defense force in times of war, those experiences are invaluable.”

Prepare all actors in society for armed conflict

Beyond shelters, Norway wants to mobilize the whole of society. In a White Paper published last year, around a hundred measures were proposed, including a 50% increase in Civil Defense staff, which would increase to 12,000 people, the obligation for each municipality to have a local crisis preparedness council or even an increase in national food self-sufficiency. 50% by 2030. The authorities also invite residents to have reserves at home allowing them to last a week independently.

« For many decades in Norway we have had the luxury of being able to devote our resources to other things.”explained Kristine Kallset, secrétaire d’Éat au ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité publique à nos frères. « But since the security situation has deteriorated, we have understood that there are a number of things to do to ensure that our preparation also includes war in the worst-case scenario.”.

The year 2026 was thus placed under the sign of “total defense”a concept which aims to prepare all the country’s stakeholders, army, administrations, businesses and citizens, to face a major crisis or armed conflict. Although awareness is growing, it nevertheless remains uneven among the population. According to a study by the Norwegian Civil Defense, 37% of residents say they have increased their preparation over the past twelve months, but only 21% think a war could break out on national territory in the next five years.