ALARM AND HOPE. 21st CENTURY International Conference

In his Nobel lecture, Andrei Sakharov put respect for human rights on par with achieving peace and progress (sustainable development). "Peace, progress, human rights—these three goals are insolubly linked to one another: it is impossible to achieve one of these goals if the other two are ignored."

Just as science in the 20th century united the physics of the infinite universe and that of elementary particles, Andrei Sakharov, a scientist and a social thinker, linked international security (the survival of humanity) with the protection of human rights and the fate of each particular prisoner of conscience. This idea shaped international politics in the 1980s and partially in the 1990s, when the world witnessed substantial progress toward resolving human rights issues.

Today it seems that the integrity of the Sakharov triad has been called into question again. The international community and mature democracies exhibit declining interest and diminished commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. Economic interests and realpolitik approaches cast human rights issues aside. Is it possible to bring human rights back into the focus of international politics? How would disrespecting one of the elements of Sakharov's triad affect the remaining two?

Participants:

• Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (2014-2020), co-Chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (USA).
• Galina Arapova, Director and senior media lawyer of the Mass Media Defence Centre (Russia).
• Yuri Dzhibladze, Member of the Coordination Committee of the International Civic Solidarity Platform (Russia).
• Maina Kiai, Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (2011–2017); former Executive Director, International Council on Human Rights Policy (2010–2011), Director for Alliances and Partnerships, Human Rights Watch (USA).
• Dunja Mijatović, the current Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (CoE).
• Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch (USA).

Speeches by Andrei Sakharov in his role as a public intellectual were almost always related to international security. His texts are full of anxiety for the threat to humanity caused by the separation and opposition of countries and, simultaneously, of an unshakable belief in the possibility of organizing the world on the principles of responsibility, openness, and trust.

In the last 50 years we saw one period full of optimism—from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. It seemed that all the barriers were falling, controversies were resolving, and humanity was on the verge of, if not "everlasting peace," then at least a system of relations in which an international community could, working together, solve even the most severe conflicts. But then the situation in the world began worsening year after year. Now some experts declare the start of a new binary rivalry (USA and China), while others speak about a return to multifaceted opposition in the spirit of the 19th century, welcomed by some in Russia as the "new normal" and called "international anarchy" in the West. Conflicts take new forms, called "hybrid wars," for want of a better term, and new spheres of opposition, such as cyberspace and new media in particular, add unexpected and unpredictable dimensions to this confrontation.

What global challenges does humanity currently face in the security sphere? How large is the destructive capacity of conflicts in the modern world? Is the approach to international security, based on its interconnection with humanitarian problems and sustainable development, realistic?

Participants:

• Vladimir Lukin, Deputy Chair, Federation Council's Committee on Foreign Affairs (Russia).
• Jack F. Matlock, Former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1987–1991) (USA).
• Tatiana Parkhalina, President, Association for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation (Russia).
• Matthew Rojansky, Director, Kennan Institute (USA).
• Angela Stent, Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Georgetown University (USA).

Russia's recent history has turned out to be dramatic. The hopes on the part of Russian society that wanted to see the country liberal and democratic have not been fulfilled. Lists of political prisoners are still compiled, just as in Soviet times.

Directly or indirectly, Russia has been involved in many military conflicts for the last 30 years. But experts have different opinions about the historical conceptualization of current events. Some define the developments as the archaization and simplification of politics and economics, while others assess the Russian regime almost as a pioneer of up-and-coming global trends — populism, illiberalism, and autocracy. Some note signs of the onset of a new "digital" totalitarianism, while others see features of authoritarian stagnancy and intensifying entropy.

Although Russia today exerts much less influence on global processes than in the times of the USSR, it is still enough not to be ignored. Russian authorities strive to strengthen it.

What trends defining the future of the world are shaped by Russia and what trends, on the other hand, are influencing its development?

Participants:

• Rüdiger von Fritsch, Former German Ambassador to Russia (2014–2019) (Germany).
• Francis Fukuyama, Philosopher, political scientist; Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University (USA).
• Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Center for Liberal Strategies; Fellow, Institute of Human Sciences (Bulgaria).
• Sergey Parkhomenko, journalist; Senior Advisor, The Kennan Institute (Russia).
• Kirill Rogov, Vice-President, Liberal Mission Foundation (Russia).
• Tatiana Vorozheikina, Political scientist, expert on development and democratization problems in Latin America and Russia, Lecturer at the Svobodnyi University (Russia).