The conference «Civilizations and International Order: ‘One World’ or ‘Multipolarity’?»

On May 15-16, the HSE faculty of world economy and politics hosted the conference «Civilizations and International Order: ‘One World’ or ‘Multipolarity’?», organized by the International Laboratory of World Order and New Regionalism in cooperation with The Centre for Baltic and East European Studies at Södertörn University.

The conference was devoted to the observed emergence of the new powers with political cultures and values that challenge Western perceptions on international norms and institutions, domestic politics, security and economic governance.

Among the participants there was Ian Ferguson (HSE), Alexander Lukin (HSE), Mark Bassin (Sodetorn University), Gregorio Bettiza (Exeter University), Ruan Zongze (CIIS), Mikhail Suslov (Copenhagen University), Glenn Diesen (HSE), Viktor Shnirelman (RAN), Igor Denisov (MGIMO), Alexander Lomanov (IMEMO).

The participants discussed the following questions: Did a worldwide, liberal order ever really exist? Was this idea the product of a period of domination by Western civilization that now seems to be at an end? Is it time to talk about the emergence of a multi-civilization order in international politics?

The speaker’s presented their research on the following themes:

• The history of political ideas of civilisation in Russia, China and the West that explore the origins and trajectories of present-day discourses
• Contemporary discourses of ‘state civilisation’ and ‘the dialogue of civilisations’ in Russia, China and the West, and their international policy objectives
• The civilisational ‘vector’ or ‘turn’ in relationships between Russia and/or China and the West
• Norm contestation in the international politics, involving a comparative analysis of Western and non-Western states