Russian International Studies Association

South Caucasus: Projects and Forecasts as an Art of Possible
Chair: V.Degoev

China in world policy
Chair: M.Zayceva

The European North and the Baltic States: tendencies and perspectives of development
Chair: Prof. Chekansky

Contemporary world political system: new realities, old rules
Chair: Prof. Marina Lebedeva
Today contemporary world policy is going through "whirligig" period. What new features are going to form now? What does prevent it functioning in the way it did before. Can we point the vector of political development? Is it possible to control this transition and to what extent? How should change the political science to evaluate adequately the changes?

World sovereignty assymetry: zones of problematic statehood
Chair: Dr. Irina Kudryasheva
It is planned to discuss the problems rooted in world sovereignty assymetry, in coexistance of different states with different possibilities. The discussion will be focused on the states of deformed sovereignty - nonlegitim states, dependant territories etc.

The partenership of civilisations
Chair: Dr. V.Popov

Baltic Region in global politics
Chair: Prof. Klemeshev, prof. Liuhto
It is planned to discuss the perspectives of international relations development in the Baltic Region

The EU-Russia partnership: new openings?

Political Atlas of the World: 1989-2008 (methodology of time series analyse)
Chair: Prof. Y.Polunin

Theoretical problems of analysis of contemporary international relations
Chair: Prof. Tatiana Alekseeva
Today international relations are frequently analysed on the level of "comman knowledge" and theoretical methods are often seen as something not important but "in fashion".
But modern challenges of globalisation bring the problems that can be resolved without theoretical instruments.
This section is made to show the euristic possibilities of theory of international relations.

France and the European construction

Russia in 2020: the alternative scenarios of the future
Chair: Prof. Irina Busygina
In the framework of this roundtable we propose to discuss the main findings of the project devoted to elaboration of scenarios for Russia's future. The project was realized by the group of MGIMO experts. The issues for discussion include theoretical and methodological problems of scenario approach, basic dimensions for scenarios as well as description of alternative scenarios. Scenarios elaborated by experts were tested in focus groups, organized on the basis of political preferencies that currently exist in Russia.

International Organisations and International Security Ensuring
Chair: Prof. Alexander Nikitin

Global problems and global competitiviness: politics and economy
Chair: Prof. Victor Sergeev
Today global competitiveness is a dominant parameter which determinates the role of the state in the world policy. It can’t be seen just as economical, it is determined by the complicated combination of political, economical, social, cultural factors and the most important is innovative capacity of the society. At the same time its capacity is determined not only by education level and scientific potential, but also by the capacity of political system to adopt technical and social innovations and to provide, born by these innovations, changes of power balance between different economical, social and political forces. These problems will be analyzed in comparative perspective and the discussion will be focused on the search of methods of improvement of Russian competitiveness in global perspectives.

Comparative World Policy
Chair: Prof. Mikhail Ilyin
It is supposed to discuss the problems of empirical studies of world politics as a whole and of its aspects, changes, conditions and components. Especial attention will be payed to configuration of world politics, the roles that states of diferent types (super large, super small, unrecognized, quasi-states, etc.) play in it.

Images of comtemporary world policy
Chair: Prof. Eduard Batalov
We perceive world politics and its components through the prism of images. But these images are not just passive reflection of reality. They create world politics. How? What is the role they play in political process? How the patterns of national cultures influence the creation of these images? Is it possible to construct new images and to reconstract the old ones?

Great Powers in World Politics (2008-2018): The Changing Pattern of Relationships
Chair: Dr. Mikhail Troitskiy
Relations between major power centers will continue to shape world politics in the coming decade. These relations unfold in a number of "traditional" domains - strategic deterrence, geopolitical rivalries as well as international trade and mutual investment. In addition to that, great powers will increasingly interact in new dimensions, such as coping with the implications of global climate change or regulating transnational migration flows. The emergence of these areas of relationships will not undermine the impact of great powers on world politics, but will rather enhance their role as providers of global public goods.
This section invites papers discussing the existing and prospective areas and patterns as well as outcomes of great power interaction. We analyze all facets of foreign relations of such players as the USA, China, Russia, Japan, India or the European Union. We encourage original forward-looking thinking about the ways in which the world's possible futures depend on the policies and mutual positioning of great powers as well as their ability for multilateral action. Specific directions of great power foreign and security policies are also of significant interest to this section.

Postsecular societies: perspectives and reality
Chair: Prof. Aleksey Shestopal
Post-secular world - modern stage of social development, characterized by the end of XX century secular religios (nazism, communism, military atheism), reduction of the religiosity to the way of living, change of "antyreligious secularity" and "argessively indifferent secularity "to the "constructive secularity" and "intelligent secularity", reviving of religiosity in the world.

Intercultural interaction and international relations
Chair: Prof. Victor Sergeev
Intercultural cooperation influences a lot the social and polilitical development of the society. The factor of constant exchange of ideas and cultural innovations should be taken into consideration when analyzing the transformation of political institution and political cultures. This subject should be analyzed with special attention because the process of intercultural cooperation is the center of global process of social and cultural integration and modernisation. The theoretical methods of intercultural cooperation analysis and the regional specification will be under discussion during this section.

The future of stability and security in Central Asia
Chair: Maxim Starchak
The anty-terror compaign in Afganistan, the challenges of terrorism and drugs proliferation, high energy potential keep the Central Asia under the rept attention of the modern majors powers. What is the future of Afganistan and of the the anty-terror campaign? Will the major actors (Russia, USA, China, EU and international organisation) succed in regional security strengthening?

Management of communications and international security
Chair: Prof. Evgeniy Pashentcev
It is proposed to analyze the role of communications management in international security, taking into consideration the growing importance of its technologies in world politics.

Spain and Latin America: perspectives of development in the 21st century
Chair: Prof. Sergey Henkin, Prof. Lyudmila Okuneva
It is planned to discuss the crucial problems of social and political development of Spain and Latin America, the main tendencies and perspectives of its evolution in XXI st century, problems of cooperation between Spain and Latin America.

Perspectives of joint venture in global economy
Chair: Prof. Nikolay Liventsev
It is planned to discuss the followig problems:
1. international business and IT cooperation
2. joint venture and research financing
3. joint venture as a factor of improvement of national competitiviness (regional analysis)
4.international merging and absorbtion

Regional organisations: institutional dynamics and the role in the system of international relations
Chair: Prof. Irina Busygina
It is supposed based on the experience of EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR, to analyze the following problems:
1. the possibilites and limits of regional intergration in comparative perspectives
2. national government motivations to pass some parts of national soverenity to supranational level
3. roles of regional integrative association in territorial world order reorganisation in XX st century

State regulation of international capital and labor force flows: view from the future
Chair: Prof. Aleksander Bulatov
It is supposed to focus on the problems of international and national regulation of international capital and labour force movement. Especial attention will be paid to Russia and to comparative studies of mentioned problems.

Round table: Teaching international relations: how and what
Chair: Prof. Marina Lebedeva
It seems that the experience of more than 60 years of teaching IR and the third generation standarts taken by UMO this February make the teaching a "matter of technics" But in fact teaching IR runs into a mass of unresolved problems. For example there are master and bachelor degrees in international relations but there is no PhD in IR. Is it necessary to create it or just continue using PhD in political science or in history? What methods do we have except lectures, seminars, business games? How should be organized bachelor and master programs? Do we need an independent RISA panel on teaching IR?

IR Teaching Traditions in Russia: MGIMO School
Chair: Prof. Lebedeva