Photo Gallery: Session 5. The Demands of Society and Responses by the State

The fifth session of the Valdai Club's 15th Annual Meeting was dedicated to the topic: "The Demands of Society and Responses by the State".

Societal structures, priorities, and demands are changing rapidly, posing serious challenges to those in authority and forcing them to modify their ideas about what constitutes “correct” policy. A number of countries have attempted to discredit this trend by labeling it as “populism.” Such efforts, however, will prove futile at halting what has become a worldwide process. Russia is no stranger to this problem, but it proposes a different model for interacting with society. The state must become more attentive to the demands of society. In addition, the demands themselves are becoming more complex – both in terms of structure (due to educational and demographic changes as well as migration), and in terms of citizens’ ability to influence state policy. Technologies are expanding those possibilities, and the demand for information transparency forces the state to be much more responsive.