What Makes Great Power War Possible

On April 29, 2016, the Valdai Discussion Club will present a report titled "What Makes Great Power War Possible"

Until recently the international security environment had come to reflect a relative calm among major powers. However, in the past two years, there have been tectonic changes in the international system. New features of conflict begin to arise. As military technology continues to evolve, the international system has once again begun to accommodate use of force by a growing diversity of actors – including major military powers against each other

In the prevailing environment, the technological sophistication of military power has continued to increase while the thresholds for use of force among states have visibly declined. Besides that, numerous international competitors are seeing use of force as a solution to their challenges. In relations between Russia and NATO, China and Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and most recently – Russia and Turkey – power plays unfold with unpredictable repercussions.

The world must once again concern itself with major inter-state, together with new military capabilities that have been developed largely in times of peace. The authors of the report will speak about possible scenarios and the consequences of a new war between great powers:

Michael Kofman - Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Wilson Center; Research Scientist, CNA Corporation;

Andrey Sushentsov - Program director at the Valdai Discussion Club; Associate Professor, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

Moderator of the event - Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the of the Valdai Discussion Club

Download Valdai Club Report in English (PDF)

Download Valdai Club Report in Russian (PDF)

Working language - English.

Venue: Valdai Discussion Club Conference Hall (Bolshaya Tatarskaya 42, Moscow, Russia)

April 29, 2016, 11:00

Information for media: to attend, please fill in the accreditation form or call +7 926 930 7763 (Maria Miklushevskaya, Public Relations Division).

Information for participants: if you have any questions, please contact Ruben Prazyan, Event Management and Research Programs Division, by calling +7 903 730-3118.