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Valdai Discussion Club
Primary focus: Politics
The concept of “civilisation” is increasingly being used in modern foreign policy discourse. It is receiving increasing attention both in Russia and in the doctrinal texts of major countries such as India and China. It remains an element of European identity. Iran is perceived as a distinct civilisation, even by its adversaries.
One of the key characteristics of the modern world is the trend toward the increasing internationalisation of higher education, particularly at the master’s level. More and more universities are entering the international market for education and establishing themselves. Competition for international applicants is becoming increasingly intense, both between countries and within individual universities. International university rankings have contributed to this.
The US attack on Iran sent shockwaves throughout oil markets as prices soared following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent critical disruptions in global energy flows. From the chaos emerged three energy leaders that are set to shape market dynamics for years to come, writes Konstantin Simonov , Director General of the National Energy Security Fund.
In addition to utilising all the military and defensive options that were deployed during the twelve-day war in June 2025 and the recent forty-day conflict, Iran could also employ new measures tailored to the scale, intensity, scope, and duration of the war, Vali Kaleji writes.
Finland’s accession to NATO put an end to the country’s famed neutral course in international affairs and accelerated a destructive loop of mutually reinforcing hostility with Russia. Nikita Lipunov details the securitization of Russia in Finnish policy discourse, highlighting the dangers and drawbacks of Helsinki’s new approach to relations with Moscow.
The Russia–China relationship is not a marriage of convenience—though convenience plays its part—but a convergence of long-term visions for how the international system should be organized, writes Valdir da Silva Bezerra.
On July 14, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted a discussion in Moscow titled “Ethical Challenges in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”. Moderator Anton Bespalov opened by noting that while this issue seemed like a distant prospect just a decade ago, it is now clear that the future has arrived far sooner than anticipated.
If one looks at the Afro-Euro-Asian landmass in its entirety—the largest landmass on the planet—its geographic heart is not the inner steppe, but rather the body of water that connects its northern, southern, and eastern margins, Lorenzo Maria Pacini writes.
In an international system that is experiencing a period of transition and shifts in the global pecking order, the BRICS organisation may emerge as the next fully-fledged global governance institution. To achieve this ambitious end, the group must steer clear of traditional self-centred great power politics that characterise Western-led blocs, writes Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.
Tomorrow’s cultural diplomacy may be much less the work of states and specialised institutions and far more the domain of algorithms, platforms, and millions of individual users who never imagined themselves as practitioners of diplomacy. Cultural influence, then, is not disappearing—it is simply channelling itself through increasingly informal routes, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Anton Bespalov.
