Today we talked to Ian Shapiro, professor of Politology at Yale University, concerning his ideas about the forum. Like some other participants, Mr. Shapiro attended last year’s forum and formed an opinion about it. He agrees that this is an important political event in the life of our country, and sees prospects for developing democracy in Russia. Interviewer: What issues do you plan to discuss at the forum?
Ian Shapiro: I’m going to plan to discuss the role of opposition in democratic politics. And, particularly, how important political competition is for opposition.
Interviewer: What, in your opinion, are the questions worthy of discussion?
Ian Shapiro: Well, I think that the biggest question for the forum: how we get more political competition in any democratic system than we see today, because most systems tend to save the incumbent, and, for democracy working, you really need turnover in government, you need replenishment; you need new people, with different ideas. And so, what tends to happen in any political system is: those who are in power try to protect their own positions and ensure that they get reappointed, and you need a system, in which there is more competition. It’s just like in a market. Every firm in a market wants to be a monopoly, but in the end, if you get a monopoly, then you don’t have competition.
Interviewer: What are your expectations concerning this forum?
Ian Shapiro: Well, I was there last year, and I found it extremely interesting. It seems like the organisers have chosen more focused topics, and I think that that’s a good thing, because I think we gonna have better organised discussions then we had last year. Last year’s forum was extremely interesting, but it was very, very widely scattered over many subjects, and I think we’ll dig more deeply into a smaller number of subjects this year.
Interviewer: What will be the impact of this forum on Russia?
Ian Shapiro: Well, I’m not sure I am the best person to answer that, but I think that the best impact this forum can have on Russia is having people, who study democracy in other parts of the world, come and talk about its relevance for Russia, because we all tend to see the world from a perspective of our own system, and while every system is to some extent unique, including, of course, Russia with its history and its unique historical circumstances, there are some dynamics of democratic politics, that reappear in all different systems, and so, I think, having experts from other parts of the world can bring a cosmopolitan glance to bear on a debate of Russian politics.
Interviewer: Will this forum encourage deeper understanding of problems that Russia is facing now?
Ian Shapiro: I think so, because, I think, particularly in the West, most intellectuals tend to respond to the issues of the moment. So, last year main things people have been focusing on, apart from the financial crisis, have been Iran, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and I think because there hasn’t been any kind of major configurational crisis in Russia, most people in the West are embarrassingly ignorant of what is going on in Russia, and so I think it’s a very good way for us to learn about what’s going on in Russia. When we had our meeting last year, there were a lot of debates about sovereign democracy in Russia and we focused quite a lot on them, but there hasn’t been anything in the summer of 2009 to focus the world’s attention on Russia. So I think it will be very healthy for us to come and learn more about what’s going on.
Mr. Shapiro sees this forum as an opportunity to share experience in building a democracy and for foreign experts to learn more about Russia.
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