Russia in Global Affairs

The United Nations emerged from the ashes of the worst war in human history to preserve global peace. Seventy-five years later, though the UN remains a leading global institution, there is increasing talk of it being in crisis and the necessity of reform. Can the UN return to relevancy amid the geopolitical realities of the 21st century?

What is in store for Russia-EU relations in a world increasingly dominated by Sino-American confrontation? What remains of the expectations of 1989? Here’s Timofei Bordachev, academic supervisor for the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, with his analysis.

There’s a common joke that Russia is a country with an unpredictable past because it rewrites history to fit the present. Paradoxically, this joke is now becoming relevant for much of the world as well. What does the battle for history mean for the present and future? And where will memory wars lead us?

Today, many point to a crisis of liberal democracy and fret over whether liberal democratic has enough dynamism to shine again. Why has such a promising beginning turned into such a whimpering finale? Is liberal democracy really at an end? We asked Ivan Krastev, a leading researcher at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, for his thoughts.

What does the U.S.-China confrontation mean for Russia? Will Moscow take sides? Or will it be able to skillfully maneuver between the two powers? We discuss these issues with Ivan Safranchuk, Associate Professor of MGIMO University, and Vassily Kashin, a leading researcher at the Higher School of Economics.

What does international cooperation look like during the triumph of national interests? Is it possible to realize these interests without interaction? We turned to Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council, and Anatol Lieven, Professor of Georgetown University in Qatar for their insight.