ДОКЛАДЫ И НАУЧНЫЕ СООБЩЕНИЯ DIVERSITY OF CIVILIZATIONS AS A VEHICLE FOR ATTAINING SUCCESSFUL GLOBAL CHANGES Vladimir Yakunin1 Founding President, World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” The events that have been unfolding during the past 3 decades have yet to be thoroughly analyzed from the factual point of view in order to arrive at some scientific assessment, but even today it seems quite apparent that the world as a whole has entered another, colossal stage of sociopolitical and economic transformation. <...> Actually, this is the conclusion that has been drawn as a result of its decade of work by the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”. <...> Many in the world today have come to realize that all the pathos and efforts — at times, too excessive — by those who purport to create a global world with a new economy, with new politics and a new democratic structure of the world community in its Anglo-Saxon version. <...> They have proceeded from the idea that it is possible and, in fact, necessary to speedily implement progressive transformations of human life irrespective of its civilizational context. <...> Hence, this enables us to talk about the fundamental basics of historical processes or, to put it another way, the civilization constants that must not be ignored if we speak about observing basic philosophical laws of “unity and conflict of the opposites” and “denial of denial” in the process of constructing a more progressive, democratic, humane and integrative future. 1 Владимир Якунин, президент, основатель международного общественного форума «Диалог цивилизаций», профессор, доктор политических наук. 160 Yakunin V. Diversity of civilizations as a vehicle for attaining successful global changes one distinguishing feature which political scientists and public dignitaries began mentioning only at the end of the 20th The shaky condition of all levels of the present-day world system demonstrates century. <...> In that Declaration the representatives of the heads of state and government in the Organization of Islamic Conference called for the establishment of a dialogue among civilizations in order to promote conditions for a more in-depth examination and solution of many international problems. <...> At the turn of the century, the President of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, stressed the need to launch a new project that could compete with and counteract the ideology of mistrust, enmity and confrontation among civilizations. <...> Within the framework of such a dialogue, President Khatami proposed “to discuss the historical <...>