Europe’s security challenges in focus at UCC forum

16 Oct 2026

• Irish and French experts to examine the changing European security landscape
• Discussion to explore defence, economic security, technology and cyber threats
• UCC event will bring together expertise from academia and the policy sphere

The growing security challenges facing Europe will be the focus of a public seminar, hosted by University College Cork and the Embassy of France in Ireland.

‘European Security in an Age of Strategic Disorder’ will bring leading Irish and French experts from academia and the policy world together to explore how Europe can respond to rising geopolitical tensions and a rapidly changing security landscape that is challenging decades-old assumptions about European security.

Open to members of the public, the event will take place in UCC’s Centre for Executive Education in Lapp’s Quay on Tuesday, 20 October at 5pm. RSVP.

Dr David Fitzgerald, UCC School of History, said: “Europe is facing critical choices about how it strengthens its security and capacity to act into a rapidly changing environment. The return of large-scale war, intensifying geopolitical competition and growing challenges to the international rules-based order have brought questions of security and strategic capacity to the forefront of European debate.”

“This changing landscape raises fundamental questions about the future of Europe. This discussion will examine how can the European Union respond to a world in which military power is once again playing a central role in determining political outcomes. How can European countries reconcile the need for greater strategic capacity with the realities of economic, technological and military interdependence?”

At its core, the discussion will ask: how can Europe remain secure and strategically relevant in a world increasingly shaped by power, coercion and geopolitical disorder?

The roundtable discussion will feature:

• Professor Andrew Cottey, Professor and EU Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration, University College Cork
• Dr Hazel Murray, Chair of Cybersecurity, Munster Technological University
• Dr Samuel Faure, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Political Science, IRSEM (Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l'Ecole Militaire)
• Dr David Fitzgerald, Senior Lecturer, School of History, University College Cork

The seminar will conclude with an audience Q&A.

All welcome. Advance registration is encouraged. RSVP here.

Event details

European Security in an Age of Strategic Disorder

Date: Tuesday, 20 October

Time: 17:00

Venue: UCC Centre for Executive Education – Cork, 1 Lapp’s Quay, Cork city centre.