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On December 8-9, 2023, the X Annual International Scientific Conference of Young Scientists "Actual Problems of World Politics" was held at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Russian Federation. The event included a series of panel discussions on broad international issues.

Employees of IMEMO took part in the conference and made presentations.

December 8

Within the framework of the section "Asia-Pacific Region in the Emerging World Order" Ekaterina Kosareva, Senior Research Assistant of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region, made a report "Securitization of Forced Migration in South Asia: the case of Pakistan and Bangladesh". The rapporteur spoke about the problems of institutionalization of forced migration in the region, and also examined the cases of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The main conclusios can be summarized as follows: 1) lack of resources of refugee-hosting states and focus on their own development problems leads to reluctance to integrate forced migrants into the society of the country; 2) refugees themselves are not ready for repatriation and prefer to stay in host countries even without documents and any rights/guarantees; 3) the question of how to regulate forced migration in South Asia remains open – the region has no common legal framework of interaction on the problem of forced migration, and its countries are not parties to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 

Within the framework of the section "The Role of New Technologies in International Relations and International Law", Pavel Karasev, Senior Researcher of the Center for International Security, made a presentation "Cybersecurity of Satellites – Prospects for Regulation". He noted that the current stage of mass exploration of outer space is accompanied by the emergence of qualitatively new threats to space activities, including those emanating from the ICT environment. They are formed by the vulnerability of spacecraft and their infrastructure to cyberattacks, the use of civilian satellites and services for military purposes and the insufficiency of existing space law. The speaker pointed out that one way to solve the problem of countering cyberattacks on satellites and space infrastructure could be to develop mechanisms for adapting existing space law to modern realities. The mechanism could be a group of governmental experts or an open-ended working group with a mandate to develop a set of principles, norms and rules for responsible behavior of States in outer space.

December 9

Elza Shirgazina, Junior Research Fellow of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region, made a report on the topic "Cross-Border Interaction in the Himalayan Belt: Peculiarities and Problems". During the presentation, attention was drawn to the interconnectedness of communities inhabiting the border belt, which is characteristic of the subregion. Despite the drawing of borders within the Indian subcontinent, this connectivity remained very close and the movement of people, goods and ideas remains active. The report also noted that under these circumstances, this model of interaction favors the development of smuggling and “gray” sector of economy on the opposite sides of the borders. The problems of interaction in the Himalayan mountain belt have political (inter-state) and inter-social (between people and communities) levels.