Valdai Club

The economic nationalism of a hundred years ago is not possible in the modern world of distributed resources and a single information domain, writes Valdai Club expert Alexander Losev. The existing associations of countries and large regional powers are not able to create autarchies, but they may well unite into large, self-sufficient blocs.

Over the past decade, the world has seen rapid development and introduction of unmanned military systems into practically all forms of conflict and security/law enforcement.


International politics experts seek to determine the nature of contemporary relations between Russia and the United States. Obviously, there is a conflict - but which one? Is it similar to the early Cold War, the period of the Korean War and the Cuban missile crisis? Or is it similar to the later period of the Cold War, accompanied by agreements on the limitation of strategic arms and the Helsinki process?

The Valdai Club has held a discussion on “Global Response to the Pandemic: the Strategy of the World Community and Social Challenges.” Those attending discussed the current response mechanisms and different approaches to the issue of herd immunity, as well as longer-term socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic that are yet to be addressed.

The crisis of the coronavirus was dangerous and it will have a serious aftermath.  But it also has a silver lining, at least for those who are willing to open their eyes. This crisis was indeed a moment of truth.


To be successful during a long-term conflict with the US, China must build its policy on the understanding that the historical period of one powers full or partial domination is over with the end of the liberal world order.

What can be  interesting today about the historical legacy of the Potsdam Conference, which ended 75 years ago? The first and most obvious is that, following the Crimean Conference, which laid the foundations for the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, it helped to avoid a repeat of the catastrophes of the two world wars.

The debate about the removal of statues has become one of the most fascinating aspects of the ongoing Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the United States. This debate encapsulates many of the current symbolic tensions in transforming America’s nationhood, with one side of society calling for drastic changes to the way in which the US self-narrates.

A chance to revive the JCPOA exists if the US doesn’t make it dependent on new demands that exceed the requirements of the 2015 Vienna agreements but rather delays this discussion until the atmosphere for reviewing mutual concerns improves, writes Valdai Club expert Alexander Maryasov.

So far, the major European corporations are better at negotiating between conflicting sides in Libya, thus taking advantage over their Chinese and US competitors. They pump the product across the frontline, ensure the security of their assets, work with the para-legitimate armed groups, and are skilled at distinguishing the fast changing shades of their legitimacy, writes Andrei Maslov, coordinator of the work on the Russia-Africa Shared Vision 2030 report, Intexpertise research network.