As I mentioned before Putin made an important speech at the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s XI session in Sochi on 24 October 2014. I am convinced that it is crucial for us to pay attention to what Putin says and also to what message he is trying to transmit. Here is my analysis of this speech.
From the very beginning of the speech, Putin refers to the consequences of the destruction of the nation-state model:
We need to be direct and blunt today not so as to trade barbs, but so as to attempt to get to the bottom of what is actually happening in the world, try to understand why the world is becoming less safe and more unpredictable, and why the risks are increasing everywhere around us.
We have discussed the nation-state a lot on this blog and we know that “the world is becoming less safe and more unpredictable” is a way to refer to the transformation of the state model. (If you are a new reader, please do the search with the words “nation-state” to access these posts.) Putin tackles the new reality head-on and addresses the issue that everybody is noticing but few people are discussing with the attention the emergence of a new state model deserves. This is a very smart thing to do because the people who start a discussion will be in the position to direct its course.
It would be phenomenal if the US didn’t lag behind in this conversation. We are all seeing that “the world is becoming less safe and more unpredictable.” Why isn’t our President giving a foundational speech to explain what our shared course will be? Why are we snoozing while other people are talking about this and trying to figure this out?
Today’s discussion took place under the theme: New Rules or a Game without Rules. I think that this formula accurately describes the historic turning point we have reached today and the choice we all face. There is nothing new of course in the idea that the world is changing very fast. I know this is something you have spoken about at the discussions today. It is certainly hard not to notice the dramatic transformations in global politics and the economy, public life, and in industry, information and social technologies.
We all know that it’s hard to dislike Putin more than I do. However, it is great that he is talking about this epochal transformation and not pretending that it will be business as usual from now on. It isn’t and it won’t be. WTF, people? Why do we need Putin to broach the subject? Have we no leaders of our own?
Clarissa's Blog 
Comment by Paul Craig Roberts at the Institute for Political Economy:
“As an American, try to image any known American politician, or for that matter any professor at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or Stanford capable of giving an address to an educated discussion group of the quality of Putin’s remarks.”
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/10/25/vladimir-putin-leader-moral-world-paul-craig-roberts
Go for it!!!
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I don’t know who this Paul Craig Roberts is but he is all shades of stupid.
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Huh. Putin as the thought leader of the world… It’s horrible to even imagine it… The well-fed politicians of the US and the EU forget to do their homework… Will Putin thematize the international discussion about the new state model coming after nation-states? Well, that will be a really nice world 😀 😦
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The US political quandary is that the decline of the nation state is linked to the decline is the US standard of living for most people. No politician wants to talk about this. Probably JImmy Carter is the only elder stateman who could address this issue, and it’s not clear how much impact that would have. He’s out-of-site, out-of-mind for most Americans.
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