An open discussion took place at the Youth Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club as part of the World Youth Festival

The result of the Valdai Club Youth Conference was an open discussion “Valdai-2040: a look into the future”, where experts of the new and older generation formulated a forecast of international relations until 2040. What will the world be like after the current transition period? Will it be possible to achieve equilibrium, a new balance of power? How will current conflicts, economic and technological cooperation, as well as the cultural and civilizational agenda develop? The speaker was the director for scientific work of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club Fyodor Lukyanov. The discussion was moderated by the program director of the Valdai International Discussion Club Andrey Sushentsov.

“Our open discussion concludes the three-day work of the first-ever Valdai Youth Conference as part of the World Youth Festival. Several hundred participants from about 60 countries took part in it. The first few days involved several brainstorming sessions, where older generation experts shared their experiences with younger generation experts. Today, young specialists took part in discussions along with experienced experts. During these days we came to several conclusions. Everyone agrees that the future of the world is no longer linear. The image of the end of history was a way of masking Western influence on other countries in the world. The distance between the new generation of experts and experienced experts turned out to be not so great,” noted moderator Andrey Sushentsov.

“It was expected that the point of view of young scientists would be somewhat different, but in many ways our views coincide. The metaphor of the crumbling of the world, which we use every year in the Valdai Reports, turned out to be a reality. However, I would like to believe that people who are now under 30 years old see something more optimistic in this world. We are all hypnotized by the Cold War, but it will not exist in the form in which it was. There has been little order in the history of mankind,” emphasized Fyodor Lukyanov.

A new generation of international relations researchers took part in an open discussion.

Adlan Margoev, lecturer at the Department of Oriental Studies at MGIMO Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: “If we interpret multipolarity as permissiveness, there will be no world order, we will fall into the abyss. Now we are in a stage of global disorder, and order is only possible if states are active, if there is cooperation and dialogue.”

Nikita Neklyudov, lecturer at the Department of Applied Analysis of International Problems at MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry: “It is risky to remember the Cold War, since we are talking about multipolarity. Multipolarity can work when it is the same in all areas. If one of the poles has an advantage, then it may not agree with multipolarity.”

Vitor Moura, Master Degree student at Tsinghua University, head of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce (Brasham): “Multipolarity is the first step towards a more just world. Countries that did not have voting rights will now have them. Multipolarity can influence checks and balances and give countries the opportunity to influence the world order through international organizations. We are seeing the emergence of new institutions, BRICS, SCO, which will be able to represent the interests of their regions. We need to promote tolerance and acceptance of other cultures.”

Tien Kan, PhD student, Department of International Relations, Tsinghua University; Research Fellow at the Center for International Security Affairs at Tsinghua University: “The move towards multipolarity is very true, although there are certain differences in what it means. Several centers of influence are now being created in the world. International world order is not the same as world order. World order is the distribution of responsibility, and world order is the distribution of forces (mostly, this means military force).

Alexander Chekov, researcher at the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security at the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry: “Today the conflict situation is changing. Conflicts used to be more open, but now we find ourselves in a “gray zone”; new areas of confrontation have emerged (for example, informational).”

Mikhail Shatrov, MGIMO student, participant in the open discussion: “Conflicts are inevitable. US hegemony ensured peace for the US and some Western European countries, but this was accompanied by many conflicts. Multipolarity is not an accomplished fact. If we want multipolarity, then we will have to defeat the enemy who clings to his hegemony. Otherwise we risk becoming victims.”

Polina Kalugina, analyst at the Institute of International Studies, MGIMO, Russian Foreign Ministry: “Society is moving from universalism to mosaicism. We distinguish between the universal and the universal, respecting each cultural identity of each participant. If multipolarity is without rules, it can lead to chaos.”

Rupal Mishra, PhD student, senior researcher at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University: “Simultaneously with the development of multipolarity, international institutions will also develop.”

Moderator Andrey Sushentsov summed up the results of the open discussion: “It’s nice to know that by 2040 humans will remain the main protagonist (and not artificial intelligence). Great power rivalry is here to stay. Multipolarity will be asynchronous (and not a simultaneous process in all countries). Sustainability in the world can be achieved if elites begin to practice empathy and awareness of the consequences of their actions. The quality of the elites is very important. And our conference is precisely dedicated to helping young people develop as experts and decision makers.”

At the end of the conference, Andrey Sushentsov and Timofey Bordachev invited the participants of the open discussion to join the “Valdai - New Generation” project.

"Valdai - new generation" was launched on February 28, 2024. As part of the project, young international specialists will work together with more experienced experts from the Valdai Club to understand the future in order to ensure the continuity of generations in the analysis of world processes. A separate page has been prepared specifically for the project, on which detailed information is published: https://ru.valdaiclub.com/projects/newgeneration/.