Valdai Club

Andrés Serbin

Alina Savelyeva

Oksana Sinyavskaya

Farid Shafiev

Ilya Stepanov

Richard Sakwa

Philip Spoerri

Vitaly Smyshlyaev

Randa Slim

Kancho Stoychev

Bulgaria

President of Gallup International Association (GIA)

Materials

The Latest Cult or the New ‘Normal’

Fear and panic are the basic characteristics of the Consumer – the first human being whose identity comes from the future, writes Valdai Club expert Kancho Stoychev. The Consumer is responsible only for his future choices as a buyer of future identities. His power is unlimited because it’s that power which drives the growth of the capital.

It’s Dangerous to Normalise the Panic: Why Irrationality Is a Bigger Enemy Than Coronavirus

There is no doubt that COVID-19 is a danger and requires serious actions which by the way are taken. But we should realize that the bigger danger and enemy is the irrationality which we humans carry in our genes by origin. Its normal to panic in front of a danger but it’s dangerous to normalize the panic.

If You Aren’t at the Table, You’ll Be on the Menu: Why Europe Seeks a More Independent Role in World Affairs

Any discussion on actual and future relations between the US and the EU should start with a realistic assessment of the current internal status of those two global actors. Which United States – the country of the hysterical Democrats or the country of the nationalistic Republicans? Which EU – one of boosting Macron or of leaving Merkel; of the nationalist East or the hypocritical West?

Boris Johnson as Marmite Personage

Boris Johnson is a friend of Trump and believes he can obtain a good trade deal between the two countries. That will encourage him to be sharp with the EU, most probably leading to a no-deal scenario.

Dmitry Medvedev in Sofia: Bulgaria and the Turkish Stream

The main news from the visit of the Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in Sofia at the beginning of the week is that the visit really happened. After 7 years break in such high level visits it seems that the recent one is normalizing the relations between the two Slavic states.

A New Global Common: Does Global Public Opinion Exist?

It is far from certain whether global public opinion exists, but there is hardly any doubt that the struggle to dominate it is in existence – struggle getting ever fiercer. This is no paradox. In human history, non-existent things have quite often both caused enormous tragedies and produced mass outbursts of happiness.

Video

The First Year of COVID-19: Socio-Political Consequences Through the Lens of Valdai Club Experts

28.01.2021