Valdai Club

Sooner or later, the world will somehow return to globalisation. Or rather, sooner or later, the world will create a new model of globalisation, which will be as different from the old model at the beginning of the century, as the modern Formula 1 car is incomparable to the first Ford Model T, writes Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).

The Valdai Club Report deserves a read, and its authors deserve gratitude for their intellectual courage. It would not be an exaggeration to say that their work is a breath of fresh air in the stifling atmosphere of contemporary Russian discourse on world politics, writes Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).

The approximate design of an umbrella for the nuclear powers is not too complicated. It includes expanding the channels of communication between the military at all levels, exchanging information about their nuclear missile forces, strategic doctrines and modernisation plans, concurrent measures to reduce the level of a missile systems’ combat readiness, the beginning of meaningful consultations on the most dangerous military technologies, and joint actions against the threat of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation, writes Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).

We need to look for other means and other platforms for making decisions that correspond to the specifics of the moment that we are all experiencing. The G20 may become one of the important nodes of the complex new global governance mechanism, but it is incapable of replacing the whole mechanism.

Have you ever thought about the age paradox of coronavirus?


Trump 2.0 is a mortal blow to the US Democratic Party, at least in the form in which the party has existed in recent decades. And for reasons other than the commonly cited age-related ones, these elections should be the last for many Democratic also-rans, including Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Their defeat in 2020 will mean the final collapse of the Democratic party ideology, party strategy, party organisation and party cadre policy.

Why is Russia, with its annual military spending of $50-60 billion considered as America’s most dangerous rival in the 2020 budget? Why is China perceived as a strategic challenge, despite spending only a third what the United States does on its defence? And why is the same President Trump stubbornly twisting the arms of his NATO allies, demanding more and more allocations to maintain the security of the West? Is the budget of $738 billion not enough?

We could say that moving the UN from New York to another place is the same as trying to move a cemetery. First, it is too expensive; second, it is technically highly complicated; and, third, no active resident support is likely.

What presents a greater threat to humanity, strategic nuclear missiles or disposable plastic bags? Common sense suggests it would be missiles. Meanwhile, today, international public opinion focuses on plastic bags much more than on nuclear missiles.

The 2020 presidential hopefuls have to incorporate at least some of the slogans of the far left in their platforms, especially since the indefatigable Bernie Sanders actually has the power to split the party and deny it any chance of winning the presidency.