4th annual conference of the Middle East Dialogue of the Valdai International Discussion Club, titled “Islam in Politics: Ideology or Pragmatism?”, will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on May 14-15.
Issues of commonalities and differences in the Muslim communities of Russia and Canada, as well as problems of their integration into the legal frameworks of their respective countries, were the main topics of discussion at the conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation
The conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation presented by Carleton’ Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam, and the Valdai Discussion Club is to be held on March 8, 2013 at the Carleton University, Ottawa.
The analytical report “Russia’s Economy: after Transformation, before Modernization” was prepared after discussions at the Valdai Discussion Club Summit held on October 21–22, 2012. The report incorporates many of the conclusions on Russia’s political development contained in the 2011 Valdai report “Russia Should Not Miss Its Chance: Development Scenarios”.
The Russia Development Index (Valdai Index) reflects the combined opinion of the world's leading experts on Russia as regards Russia’s political, economic, social, cultural and international performance. The annual poll aims to study changes in Russia’s development trends over a year. It is important that respondents assess not the current situation, but changes.
The analytical report “Military Reform: Toward the New Look of the Russian Army” summarizes the results of the conference of the Valdai Discussion Club Defense and Security section titled “Modernization of Russia’s Armed Forces and Cooperation in International Security” which was held on May 25-27, 2011 in Moscow.
With its vast background of sponsoring failed regimes and absence of a colonial past, Russia could pioneer a sober-minded approach to economic humanitarian assistance and thus help the West overcome the guilt complex underlying its relationship with peripheral countries. In return, Moscow would come closer to the West and save billions of dollars in economic modernization and social improvements.
Gaddafi’s death has not brought an end to the civil war in Libya. What’s more, the brutality with which he was killed without charge or trial has caused public revulsion both in the Arab Islamic world and beyond.
The West has been mirroring militants’ intransigence in its handling of the Middle Eastern affairs lately. This is exactly the approach that Russia once tried to implement vis-à-vis Chechnya: no dealing with the rogues, no compromises with your opponents, no tolerance for those who do not agree to have it your way.
Whatever one may think about former Libyan leader, his death most likely means not the end, but a beginning of a real crisis in this North African country. Rebels have been consolidated by a common wish to capture and kill the dictator, and this aim kept them together. Now the most important process will be launched – the struggle for revenues and power in new Libya.
Africa is gaining greater importance in the foreign policy of developed nations, who are competing for influence on the continent. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and India all seek to expand political and economic ties with African nations. Their main interest in Africa lies in their growing need for its vast resources. Moreover, Africa remains an enormous and largely undeveloped market for technology and consumer goods.
The BRICS must learn to appreciate their global role, to turn into an active global force – not only responding to issues as they arise but architects of the new world order.
In a practical sense, we need to consider the situation in Libya, where Russia has many interests and where those interests may well be implemented with the interim authorities and with the future Libyan government. Of course, we did not take part in the military operation to support the rebels, but on the other hand, we didn’t veto the UN Security Council resolution, which definitely means we haven’t automatically lost our positions and contracts in Libya.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is one of the most important foreign policy initiatives taken by Russia along with five other countries. Both Russia and China want to reduce the threat of separatism and western influence in the region. Emergence of SCO provoked new international order.
Iran has made varying degrees of progress down the tracks—enrichment, weaponization and delivery system—needed to have a viable nuclear weapon. How far will it proceed? One option is to build a bomb and, to show the world its nuclear prowess, conduct a test. But that option poses real risks for the Iranian government.
The current contract portfolio of Russian arms exporters is worth about $46 billion. Annual exports total $15 billion, and this will ensure uninterrupted deliveries for the next three years, even in the worst-case scenario. The list of the main buyers of Russian weapons is unlikely to change drastically.
Why did Russian officials choose to make Fogle’s case so public and then insist that it was unlikely to affect U.S.-Russia relations? The official explanation for this is that Moscow had already asked the United States to stop trying to recruit its intelligence officers—which seems like a silly and unrealistic request, since Russian agencies seem unlikely to halt similar steps in the United States—and that officials were frustrated after handling a similar case quietly earlier this year.
