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.
08/24/201211:00 Criticism by Congress of Russia on human rights issues will increase. This dependence is not very important for it (even the House Democrats almost unanimously supported the bill banning the acquisition of Russian helicopters by the Pentagon, although the White House is resolutely against the ban, which points to objective U.S. interests in such transactions). Congress and the Republicans in particular will invariably turn up the heat as the November elections draw closer.
08/24/201210:53 With all its domestic political liberalism and abundance of foreign policy liberals, the Obama administration is pursuing the most realistic and least ideology-driven foreign policy in U.S. history since the end of the Cold War. It was Washington's refusal to pursue an overly ideological foreign policy that has made the reset policy between the U.S. and Russia possible.
08/24/201210:37 No fundamental changes in the Russian-American dialogue on human rights have occurred since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidential office in Russia. Putin's comeback has not changed the dominant realistic approach to the foreign policy pursued by the Obama administration, which still seeks not to make relations with Russia dependent on its democratization.
05/29/201209:49 Russia has started actively building up its presence in the region after the commissioning of Sakhalin gas deposits. After liquefying the bulk of the gas, Russia supplies it to its Asian partners. High-tech methods of liquefying natural gas can put Russia in the lead in the Asia -Pacific Region.
04/09/201210:13 Why is Mike McFaul, a prominent scholar and Russia specialist who played a very positive role during the reset in his capacity at the White House from 2009 to 2011, so controversial as an ambassador? The role of public celebrity hardly combines well with the role of extraordinary and plenipotentiary envoy.
03/13/201211:35 The new Russian president will be confronted with complex tasks in the Asian Pacific Region. Moscow will need to preserve good relations with China, find an economic counterbalance to influential Chinese businesses in the Far East and expand its trade relations with ASEAN. The main thing is to avoid having to choose between the US and China amid mounting U.S.-China contradictions.
03/12/201210:34 Putin has to decide whether he has to get rid of some people, how many, who and so on. Or he can ignore this public demand for new faces and bring his own team, his St. Petersburg team, or the people who have been around him for the past 20 years, and keep them, ignoring the public mood for changes in government.
03/11/201209:43 A scant four years ago Russia's perception of the United States probably would have mattered little, since the United States saw itself in the driver's seat in the relationship. But the global economic crisis has turned many traditional assumptions on their head, and there are now many more risks to reverting to the open hostility that characterized the final years of the George W Bush presidency.
03/02/201210:28 Is there a big margin between Russian political elites and the public? Why do people criticize the recent Duma elections in a way that has not been seen since the beginning of Putin’s administration? Is there a threat to Russian democracy which could lead to chaos and a breakdown of normal political life? How popular is Mr. Putin notwithstanding these protests and how long can he enjoy such popularity in the years ahead?
03/02/201210:25 How do the Russian people feel about liberal democracy and transparency mechanisms in their country? Through waves of modernization Russian society is becoming more transparent. The well-educated younger generation is becoming more actively involved in the important issues of the country, and the number of multinational companies doing business in Russia and the number of Russian companies doing business in various regions of the world are increasing rapidly.
