Expert Roundtable “The Crisis of the World Order: Ethics and Morality in the New International System”

On 7 September 2026, at 15:00, an expert roundtable will be held, organized with the participation of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, the HSE University Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, and the “Petersburg Dialogue” civil society forum. The working language is English, with simultaneous interpretation into Russian. The discussion is divided into two sessions: “World Order, Deterrence, and Law” and “The Moral and Ethical Foundations of the Future World Order.” The meeting will conclude with a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The roundtable brings together foreign and Russian scholars, as well as students and early-career researchers specializing in international relations and international law. The foreign participants include:

• John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
• Andrew Napolitano, former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, columnist and commentator
• Alastair Crooke, Founder and Director of the Conflicts Forum research organization, former diplomat
• Larry Johnson, CEO of BERG Associates, LLC, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), political analyst

The question of the moral and ethical content of the future world order is acquiring practical significance, as the normative foundation that sustained the previous order is being exhausted, while appeals to law increasingly serve as an instrument of policy rather than a constraint upon it.

This determines the structure of the discussion. The first session addresses the relationship between power, deterrence, and law in a system where familiar mechanisms of control are losing their reliability. The second turns to conceptions of justice, responsibility, and permissibility among participants in the emerging multipolar world.

The aim is not to arrive at a common position: the value of the meeting lies in the opportunity to present and hear arguments directly, without intermediaries.

Date: 7 September 2026, starting at 3:00 PM

Venue: HSE University, 11 Pokrovsky Boulevard, Building 9 (Durasov Mansion), White Hall (Room A201)

Working language: English, with simultaneous interpretation into Russian

Registration is required to attend link.