Valdai Club

2016

War and Security in the 21st Century

Andrey Sushentsov

Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; Dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO University

In conditions of growing confrontation, the role of military power in international politics is growing. Those who possess military power strive to improve their capacities and are finding new ways to deploy their forces. At the same time, co-operative elements have not disappeared, and there remains significant potential to find new forms of engagement and conflict resolution. This poses the question of establishing a new global security regime and maintaining strategic stability. The objective of this programme is to analyse the transformation of military power, new forms of its use, its potential as a foreign policy tool, and to explore new opportunities for trust building and risk minimisation.

Reports

Report: Donald Trump: A Professional Profile of the New U.S. President

The United States is entering a new stage in its development. Although the U.S. remains the leading world power, recent events indicate that it is not immune to instability and change. More importantly, those changes caught the U.S. elite by surprise. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump, the two major parties’ presidential candidates, offered a program to resolve the country’s underlying problems, and are themselves symptoms of those ills.

Andrey Bezrukov, Olga Rebro, Andrey Sushentsov

Report: International Implications of the Brexit Referendum

The results of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum became one of the least predictable international developments of the year 2016, along with the coup attempt in Turkey, Donald Trump’s electoral successes and the faltering TTIP negotiations. The significance of Brexit goes far beyond the boundaries of Britain, therefore it is so important to assess its consequences.

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser

Report: A New Stage of the Afghan Crisis and Tajikistan’s Security

The general situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating during the last few years. The year 2015 saw several record low points at once.

Akbarsho Iskandarov, Kosimsho Iskandarov, Ivan Safranchuk

Report: What Makes Great Power War Possible

Numerous international competitors see use of force as a solution to their challenges. In relations between Russia and NATO, China and Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, power plays unfold with unpredictable repercussions.

Michael Kofman, Andrey Sushentsov

Valdai Papers

Nuclear Weapons in the Cyber Age: New Challenges for Security, Strategy and Stability

The safe, secure and reliable management of nuclear weapons has always been a complex and complicated business, plagued by uncertainty and risks.

THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE

Labour Migration from Central Asia to Russia in the Context of the Economic Crisis

The migration corridor that has formed between the countries of Central Asia and Russia is one of the largest and most stable in Eurasia and the world. It consists primarily of labour migrants.

Sergey Ryazantsev

Russia-Turkey Relations and Security Issues in the Caucasus

Disagreements may deepen on Ukraine and the Crimea, as well as on the problems in the South Caucasus.

Sergey Markedonov

Сentral Аsia: Secular Statehood Challenged by Radical Islam

Nowadays, the rise of threats to security coming from terrorism and religious extremism is spreading all over the world.

Andrey Kazantsev

Reflecting on the Revolution in Military Affairs: Implications for the Use of Force Today

The strategy of modern war is one of the main practical issues in the XXI century. What is the threshold for the use of force against each other?

Jeffrey Collins, Andrew Futter