16.12.2020
On November 30, the round table "The possibility of an effective response by society and authorities to the challenges and threats caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: Russian and foreign experience" was held online at RSUH.
The event was held within the framework of the project "Study of the state and development prospects of priority areas of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation."
The organizers of the Table were the Faculty of International Relations and Foreign Area Studies of RSUH, the Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical and Ethnocultural Processes and the Research Center for Integrative and Digital Studies in Humanities of RSUH.
The event was attended by over a hundred scholars, experts, teachers and students of RSUH.
Dr. Olga Pavlenko, First Vice-Rector of RSUH, made a presentation “Challenges and Threats of Covid and post-Covid Reality: Materials from Russian and Foreign Think Tanks”, in which she spoke about the problems arising from intensive technological development. The biggest challenges and threats of our time are the problems of biosafety, confidentiality and socio-humanitarian factors that hinder the development of the economy. The presentation was prepared on the basis of the analyses carried out in the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.
“The analysis showed that research on a global scale is devoted to various aspects of the impact of the Internet on social processes, people's private life, the issues of environmental safety, cultural taboos and on how these issues hinder the introduction of new technologies”, explained Dr. Pavlenko.
The results presented by Scopus and Web of Science over the past decade indicate that the largest number of patents are related to environmental safety and security set to counteract emergencies and natural disasters. The most cited are studies on threats and disasters, as well as developments in the field of artificial intelligence.
Dr. Pavlenko singled out the crisis of the state as the key threat of today. According to her, the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated this crisis and raised the issue of reforming the usual state systems so that they should become more flexible and respond to new challenges.
The lack of internal competition and the loss of human capital are becoming a real problem in Russia, says Dr. Mikhail Kozhokin, Vice-Rector for Development and Information Resources of RSUH. In his presentation “Contemporary Challenges and Threats as Seen by the Russian Elite,” based on the results of a sociological survey of fifty politicians, businessmen and experts, he outlined a number of problems, the solution of which requires serious country-wide reforms.
“While assessing the risks and threats of our time, all experts were unanimous in their understanding that political and economic processes in Russia were inseparably linked,” noted Dr. Kozhokin. - The threat of "brain drain" from Russia was named as the most threatening. The next real threat is an ecological one. Despite the imposition of severe sanctions for non-compliance with environmental standards, their enforcement leaves much to be desired. The third threat is the lack of competition within the country, which is seen as a hindering factor in the development of business and the political system."
Dr. Andrey Masalovich, President of the Consortium "Inforus" gave the presentation "Using the Avalanche System for the Analysis and Forecasting of Socio-Humanitarian Risks”, in which he spoke about the methodology for collecting information during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Veronika Krasheninnikova, Director General of the Institute for Foreign Policy Research and Initiatives, gave the presentation "Political Regionalistics: the Quality and Reliability of Information Resources", in which she said, “the spread of conspiracy theories, spurred by the pandemic, keeps reaching the current news feed, which underlines the importance of educational work that teachers are to carry out with students.”
The presentation “Sociocultural Risks and Threats: a Multidisciplinary Approach” was delivered by Dr. Vera Zabotkina, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of RSUH. The project had consisted in the development of cognitive tools and models for the system analysis of socio-cultural threats and factors that have a significant impact on the development of modern society. “In the course of the work, the mechanisms of conceptualization of real and hypothetical risks and threats in the worldview of Russian speakers were comprehensively investigated. We also considered communicative strategies for preventing and overcoming threats in the history of Russia and suggested ways to respond to the challenges of our time,” said Dr. Zabotkina.
The presentation “Ethnic and Religious Factors in Political Regional Studies” was made by Dr. Magomed Omarov, Director of the Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical and Ethnocultural Processes of RSUH, who analyzed general political trends in the federal districts of Russia. The speaker also drew attention to the management crisis in the country.
The presentation "Cognitive Helplessness and Global Environmental Challenges" was made by Dr. Evgeny Kozhokin, Acting Dean of the Faculty of International Relations and Foreign Area Studies. The author of the report analyzed the threats to life caused by forest fires and pollution of the oceans.
Dr. Alexander Libin, Director of the Center for Integrative and Digital Studies in Humanities of RSUH, spoke about the role of strategic thinking in modern society and the importance of humanities in the digitalization of all areas of society in the presentation "Risks of the Global Digitalization of Modern Society".
Dr. Vasily Khristoforov, Chair of the Department of International Security of RSUH, made the presentation "Strengthening International Cooperation of Russian Special Services in the Fight Against Modern Challenges and Threats", in which he spoke about cooperation between Russia and the United States in countering terrorism and underlined the importance of integrated work for a prompt response to global challenges and threats.
