Russia in Global Affairs

Within a few decades, the Internet has transformed the global economy and rendered the old Westphalian order increasingly obsolete. But without a new governance framework to manage cyber threats and abuses, what has been a boon to globalization could become its undoing.

The European Union's political and economic outlook improved dramatically in 2017, following a year in which the bloc reeled from the United Kingdom's Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's election in the United States. But European leaders must not become complacent in 2018, or the EU could be thrown into crisis yet again the following year.

The year 2004 is likely to become a watershed year in terms of the increased development of what is referred to as Wider Europe – a community of countries united by their close geographical proximity, shared history and cultural values. To understand what our common future will be like, it is necessary to answer one critical question: Where is Russia heading? Many in the West are questioning whether there has been a change in the direction of the development of Russia, and what consequences this change would have for its relations with the outside world.

Russia and the EU are facing many problems, both global and regional, which they can solve only by pooling together their efforts. However, the political dialog between Moscow and Brussels has been remarkably empty, considering that the solution to these vexing problems is vital to both parties.