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.
02/11/201311:10 In several years from now the US-Russia relations might find themselves in a situation where the positive cooperative agenda will shrink or marginalize, while the negative one will grow both in size and importance, and Russia could again color the US as a major threat to its military and political security.
02/06/201310:17 There will be inevitable ups and downs in U.S.-Russian relations as the two countries partner on some issues on which it is beneficial for both of them to be allied, and compete and experience tensions on other issues, where their vital interests diverge. This means there isn’t much chance of consistently smooth relations between the two countries.
02/01/201310:31 Russia and the United States do not have a solid economic foundation for stable relations, which explains the recent diplomatic crisis between our countries. Current tensions are also due to the fact that the reset agenda has been exhausted. All that could be done has already been done.
01/30/201312:17 The formation of the Big Government (that includes the government as such and the presidential executive office) around Putin with duplicate functions and diverse staff (both in terms of professionalism and clan representation) has increased Putin’s personal influence on the one hand but slowed down the adoption of strategic decisions and reduced their quality, on the other.
01/29/201311:02 The West pretends that its prescriptions for the world arrangement are the most effective. The East agrees but acts as it sees fit. In this context, Russia is simply obliged to offer a third way that takes into account the ideas of the West and the potential of the East. Western elites fear the reemergence of the USSR for a reason – this prospect is based on objective political reality.
01/18/201311:06 Putin is an unusual politician, not only because of his personal qualities, but because the leader of Russia cannot be an ordinary politician by definition. The personal factor means much more in Russian politics than in the West. The Russian president can rule Russia as he sees fit. Many in the West fear Putin’s unlimited power and are hostile to him as a result.
01/16/201312:27 The true impact of the new Obama administration and Kerry's leadership will be in setting up a new, profoundly different framework and foundation of the relationship between the two countries. This new foundation should take into account legitimate long-term interests of all participants and abandon the zero-sum approach of the Cold War.
01/15/201310:19 The challenge for Washington and Moscow now is whether they can move beyond the reset and current frictions to build a more sustainable relationship, deepening cooperation on issues where their interests converge while defending their positions where they differ.
12/27/201212:51 In his recent speeches, Vladimir Putin has been increasingly speaking as a political manager, the master of the situation who has the right to determine the competences of the state and the Fundamental Law. The master can change the order of things, as evidenced by Putin’s words about the possibility of amending the Constitution. In this respect, the president has put a distance between himself and the state as an institution.
12/26/201213:54 The proposed new Russian foreign policy concept speaks of applying confidence and co-operation on the basis of pragmatism with Moscow’s European partners. Yet developments over the past year have prompted fears in Russia that an undeclared cold war is already being waged. The West’s pointed refusal to recognise Moscow’s concerns and Russia’s pointedly unfriendly actions have created an atmosphere of mutual mistrust.
