Format: moderated panel discussion
Working languages: English and Russian
Organizers: Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations (Belarus), the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Germany), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus
Recent years have seen a dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions in different parts of the world, which has had an immediate impact on the state of international security. Three decades after the end of the Cold War, the spirit of interstate confrontation is back and derailing the idea of cooperative security.
What seemed to be the relic of the past – arms race – looks set to return to our life as the system of arms control developed in the late 20th century unravels. Moreover, the existing framework for strategic stability, which has been the cornerstone of international security, appears increasingly outdated and may no longer be able to provide for mutual deterrence amid growing strategic competition.
Yet, it is not just the ‘return of geopolitics’ that shapes all these developments. Ongoing technological progress is inevitably reframing security landscape and redefining security. Combined with current geopolitical trends, new technologies pose unprecedented challenges to international security.
The panel will discuss these challenges and whether we are prepared to tackle them in today’s international environment. It will place special emphasis on the role of international organizations, such as the UN and OSCE.
The discussion will take place as a side-event within the framework of the high-level international conference Combating Terrorism through Innovative Approaches and the Use of New and Emerging Technologies to be held in Minsk on September 3-4, 2019.
Introductory remarks
Jakob Wöllenstein
Director Country Office Belarus, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Germany
Speakers
Sevil Alirzayeva
Chief of the Office of Under-Secretary-General on Counterterrorism, United Nations
Ravi Batra
Chairman, National Advisory Council on South Asian Affairs of India
Mikalai Ausyanka
Head, International Security and Arms Control Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus
Moderator
Yauheni Preiherman
Director, Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations
