On May 23-24, the international “Second Europe-Asia: Dialogue of Civilizations Conference” was held in the Russian city of Perm on the Europe-Asia border. Statesmen, politicians, diplomats, and experts from various regions of the Eurasian continent participated in the Conference.
One of the speakers was Azerbaijani deputy Elshad Mirbashiroglu. Elshad Mirbashiroglu is a member of National Assembly (Milli Majlis) of Azerbaijan, board member of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, board member and vice chairman of Social Research Center, member of The Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of the Department of Political Science and Political Management of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Mirbashiroglu spoke in Russian. UWI has translated the speech and presents it below.
Dear participants of the conference, I welcome you and express my gratitude for the opportunity to participate and speak.
It must be recognized that today our world is going through a rather difficult period and the conflict potential of the world is rapidly increasing. Since the destruction of the bipolar system, the world has undergone serious and sometimes dangerous changes. As there were signs of a unipolar world system, which was quite a dangerous challenge for global security. Firstly, the main tendency of unipolarity is the forceful solution of crisis situations and problems. Limited or complete lack of opportunities to secure the interests of the majority of the world’s states inevitably contributed to the emergence of contradiction at the global level.
Participants of the world political system today face a choice between two approaches: collision or dialogue. Of course, the sane majority want to opt for dialogue, realizing its power to ensure global security and establish constructive ties. Only with dialogue do the states or peoples of the world have the opportunity to express their positions, talk about their interests and defend those interests accordingly.
But in the short period of observing the signs of a unipolar world system, the world has become convinced of the limited or, as already noted, the complete absence of such opportunities within this system. Attempts to assume the functions of a universal global gendarme plunge the world into a state of deep chaos and confrontation. Thus, today we can confidently say that the main guarantor of global security is a multipolar system of international relations. Since, in the presence of a multipolar world system, the general state of the world does not depend on the egoistic moods of only one center.
Multipolarity of international relations provides real opportunities for the establishment and development of inter-civilizational dialogue. And the dialogue between civilizations and different cultures is an effective method of preventive smoothing of contradictions between peoples and states. Thus, the main challenges, problems of modernity are mainly related to the tendencies of unipolarity. Therefore, for the good of all mankind, preservation of nation-states and reliable global security, it is necessary to support and develop the idea of multipolarity.
It is often observed that certain circles, precisely through the clash of civilizations, purposefully increase the conflict potential in the world and thus ensure the possibility of ruling the world purely within the framework of their interests. Accordingly, in such a case, the interests of other peoples and states are openly infringed. From this we can also conclude that the fatal reality of the clash of civilizations is not the result of an objective historical process, but of the adventurist course of the political elites of some Western states. That is, the emphasis on the superiority of one culture over others actually leads to dangerous intercultural and subsequently political conflicts. The growing confrontational tendencies in the world are a cause for serious concern.
Inter-civilisational conflicts are deliberately imposed on the world, and one should be aware of the dangerous consequences such attempts can lead to. There are also clearly systematic attempts to create confrontation between Christian and Islamic civilizations. Such destructive attempts can be countered by the most extensive inter-civilizational dialogue. Accordingly, I would like to emphasize the importance of discussing the issue of dialogue among civilizations within the framework of this conference.
I would also like to bring to your attention that from the very beginning the Republic of Azerbaijan, like Russia, has consistently advocated the development of dialogue among civilizations, as well as its transformation into a more advanced form of international cooperation. The importance of the development of dialogue is constantly emphasized by the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev during the relevant international forums. Multiculturalism is a separate important vector of the policy of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The nature of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan contributes to the development of intercultural dialogue in our region. Effective platforms are being actively created and expanded to discuss opportunities for co-operation in various fields. The initiatives of Azerbaijani and Russian leaders make an important and valuable contribution to the dialogue between civilizations, which should be an example for other countries. In both Azerbaijan and Russia, representatives of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions have lived, worked together and enjoyed very good relations for centuries. Our countries adhere to the principle that the peoples of the world can succeed only in the spirit of mutual respect and partnership. It is this approach that can be the key to security, sustainable cooperation and mutually beneficial co-operation.
Thank you for your attention!