The Global Security Forum is an annual international gathering hosted by The Soufan Center. For several years it has brought together an international network of senior officials and experts, and consistently included ministers, heads of security agencies, and prominent experts, academics, and journalists, and thousands of attendees. This invitation-only event provides a unique dynamic platform for international stakeholders to convene and address the international community’s leading security challenges.
March 2023 | Doha, Qatar
2023 Global Security Forum on ‘Reshaping the Global Order:
Conflict, Crises, and Cooperation’
The 2023 Global Security Forum took place from March 13-15, in Doha, Qatar, and addressed the theme ‘Reshaping the Global Order.’ The conference focused on international approaches to conflict, crises, and cooperation and included discussions on topics such as: the global energy crisis and approaches to strengthening sustainable economies; great power competition, shaped by the war in Ukraine; the evolution of global terrorism and emerging threats; violent far-right extremist networks and financing; and the disinformation-terrorism nexus.
September 2022 | New York, New York
2022 UN General Assembly Side Event on ‘Reshaping the Global Order: Conflict, Crises, and Cooperation’
The Soufan Center organized a Global Security Forum (GSF) event on the margins of the 77th UN General Assembly. This lunchtime event focused on ‘Reshaping the Global Order: Conflict, Crises, and Cooperation.’ Each year, the GSF has brought together governments, experts, and the media for unique interactive discussions on pressing security and policy challenges, from conflict to terrorism, pandemic to great power competition.
October 2021 | Doha, Qatar
2021 Global Security Forum on ‘Cooperation or Competition?
Changing Dynamics of Global Security’
The 2021 Global Security Forum took place from October 12-14, 2021, in Doha, Qatar and adopted a hybrid approach for virtual participants. As states vie for power and resources in a rapidly evolving geopolitical climate, the 2021 Global Security Forum addressed the theme ‘Cooperation or Competition? Changing Dynamics of Global Security.’ Conversations focused on the imperative of balancing cooperation and competition in ensuring security and addressing critical challenges in governance and development.
November 2020 | Virtual
2020 Global Security Forum on ‘A New World (Dis)Order? Managing Security Challenges in an Increasingly Complex Landscape’
The 2020 ‘Virtual’ Global Security Forum took place from November 16-19, 2020, and addressed the topic ‘A New World (Dis)order? Managing Security Challenges in an Increasingly Complex Landscape.’ The Forum explored, through a series of online fireside chats and panel discussions, the evolution of global security challenges posed by complex geopolitical realities that have been exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, including disinformation, extremism, and governance and legitimacy.
October 2019 | Doha, Qatar
2019 Global Security Forum on ‘Security Challenges in the Era of Modern Disinformation’
The 2019 Global Security Forum took place on 15-16 October in Doha, Qatar. The two-day conference explored the security challenges posed by the proliferation of modern disinformation and the serious implications this has on an increasingly interconnected world. The 2019 Forum brought together officials and experts from across the world, to include governments, technology platforms, media, advertising & marketing agencies, social media, academia, think tanks, and international organizations, among others.
October 2018 | Doha, Qatar
2018 Global Security Forum on ‘Returning Foreign Fighters: Policies and Actions to Address the Threat and Protect Vulnerable Communities’
The inaugural 2018 Global Security Forum took place in Doha, Qatar, from 30-31 October 2018, bringing together a consortium of experts, practitioners, and policy-makers to address the global challenge of returning foreign fighters. The forum served as an opportunity for a multi-disciplinary network to come together to address the foreign fighter phenomenon and its effects on vulnerable communities and global security. The 2018 Forum addressed a range of issues – from understanding the global terrorism landscape to addressing challenges to prosecution to discussing the particular issue of returning women, children, and families.