UNIDIR’s Innovations Dialogue 2026 (#ID26) provides a timely platform to explore the international peace and security implications of developments related to the electromagnetic spectrum and its disruption, including the impact on military capabilities, technological innovation and the future of conflict.
The electromagnetic spectrum is becoming an increasingly important domain of strategic competition. It is essential to modern military operations and is increasingly acting as a driver of military innovation, through efforts to maintain dominance over it, and overcoming disruptions caused to it. At the same time, growing reliance on the electromagnetic spectrum creates vulnerabilities, with disruptions affecting not only military operations but also civilian services and critical infrastructure.
Launched in 2019, UNIDIR’s Innovations Dialogue serves as a multi-stakeholder forum for examining developments in science and technology with significant implications for international peace and security.
This year’s edition will explore how the electromagnetic spectrum is shaping military innovation and strategic competition, as well as the vulnerabilities created by growing reliance on it. The conference will examine the implications of new and emerging capabilities, alongside the cascading effects that disruptions can have on civilians and critical infrastructure.
Despite its growing importance, the electromagnetic spectrum remains underexplored in arms control and disarmament discussions. The conference will provide a space to explore the evolving role of the disarmament community in managing the multitude of consequences related to the growing centrality of the electromagnetic spectrum in the military domain, and the ways in which the disarmament and arms control architecture can adapt to the realities of conflict in the 21st century.
Agenda
09:15 – 09:30 | Opening remarks
09:30 – 10:15 | Panel 1: Understanding the electromagnetic spectrum as a strategic domain
10:15 – 12:00 | Panel 2: Electromagnetic spectrum disruptions and battlefield connectivity
12:00 – 13:15 | Lunch break
13:15 – 14:45 | Panel 3: The cascading effects of electromagnetic spectrum disruptions
14:45 – 15:15 | Coffee break
15:15 – 16:45 | Panel 4: Arms control and disarmament in the age of EMS disruptions
16:45 – 18:00 | Panel 5: Cross-cutting sectoral approaches to addressing EMS disruptions and adaptations
Further details will be added in due course.
When and where
Wednesday, 11 November 2026 | 09:15 – 18:00 CET | In person (Auditorium Ivan Pictet, A1 B, Geneva Graduate Institute, Geneva) and online.
Check your local time here.
Participants
The event is open to State representatives, civil society, academics and industry experts working on or interested in science and technology issues pertaining to international peace and security, and disarmament and arms control.
RSVP
For in-person and online participation, please register here.
Further information
For any questions, please contact sectec-unidir@un.org.