Rhodes Forum - World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

"Possible Futures" Round Table

Many hoped the end of the Cold War would usher in an era of open exploration of the best collaborative solutions to global problems and of respect for the different conditions and civilizational histories of different regions. However, the post-Cold War era was dominated by neo-liberalism and market fundamentalism, and by a securitization of international relations led by a single superpower. Although liberal economic policies enjoyed major successes, they have also entered a period of crisis. Neo-liberalism has not offered an adequate intellectual basis for tackling the world's many major challenges. Accordingly, it is necessary to renew open exploration of key issues facing humanity on a multilateral basis.

Global dialogue among policy-makers, social movements, and indeed civilizations depends on grounding in the best available scientific and humanistic knowledge. In order to bring such knowledge to global dialogue the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”, Social Science Research Council (USA) and Carleton University (Canada) supported the work of the international research group “Possible Futures”. As a result this group produced reports on key issues of global concern, which are now presented in frames of the special Rhodes Forum 2009 round table.

Session 1 “Short-Term Crisis and Long-Term Transitions”
Chairman: Craig Calhoun – President, Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York; Professor, New York University (USA)

Session 2 “Emerging Post-Hegemonic Regimes”
Chairman: Georgi Derlugian – Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, Chicago (USA)

Session 3 “Reshaping Regions and Global Relations”
Chairman: Piotr Dutkiewicz – Professor and Director, Centre for Governance and Public Management, Carleton University, Ottawa (Canada)

Concluding discussion
Chairman: Craig Calhoun – President, Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York; Professor, New York University (USA)