Page 2 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

THE TRENDS OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT

other countries around the globe.

Faculty Members and Students,
As an institution of higher learning specializing in research and
teaching on international issues, no doubt you here at the Institute pay
closer attention than most to the international state of affairs and have
a real appreciation of the enormous changes that the international
community has been experiencing over the past few decades. We live in a
time of kaleidoscopic shifts and face a world that is constantly changing.
It is a world where peace, development, cooperation, and common
benefits have become the trends of our time. The old colonial systems
have collapsed, and the confrontation between blocs of the Cold War is
long gone. No one country or group of countries will ever again single-
handedly dominate world affairs.
It is a world where a great many emerging markets and developing
countries have embarked on a fast track to development. Billions of
people are picking up pace in their move toward modernization. Multiple
growth centers have emerged in regions all over the world. And the
international balance of power continues to evolve in the right direction
for world peace and development.
It is a world where countries are connected to and depend on each
other to an extent never before experienced. We as humans all live in
the same global village, in the same time and space at the confluence of
history and reality. More and more we are becoming a community with a
shared future in which we all have a little of others within us.
It is a world where humankind continues to face a great many
problems and challenges. The deep impact of the global financial crisis
continues to be felt, protectionism in all shapes and forms is palpably
on the rise, regional hotspots flare up ceaselessly, hegemonism, power
politics, and neo-interventionism have all seen a rise, and conventional
and non-conventional security threats, like arms races, terrorism, and
cyber insecurity, are inextricably linked. Protecting world peace and
promoting common development today remain a long and uphill battle.
We hope that the world becomes a better place. We have every
reason to believe that it will. At the same time, we are soberly aware that
while the future is bright, the path to it may be tortuous. Chernyshevsky

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