The E.M. Primakov Centre launched the advanced training course “Foreign Regional Studies. American continent”.

The students were addressed by the Head of the Department of Domestic Political Studies of the G.A. Arbatov Institute of the USA and Canada, Mr. RAS Arbatov. Dmitry Vorobyev, Candidate of Historical Sciences, PhD in Political Studies at the Arbatov Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about social and cultural processes in the countries of North America.

Dmitry Vorobyev noted that the historical roots of American identity were formed under the influence of Anglo-Saxon norms and Protestant ethics. He emphasized the importance of migration processes that contributed to the formation of the US society.

The speaker drew attention to Southern identity, which has long been based on slavery and paternalistic relationships. After the South’s defeat in the Civil War, these cultural traits were partially displaced, but their influence left a deep mark.

The expert went on to identify two main trends in modern liberalism: social liberalism, which emphasizes state intervention in the economy, and neoliberalism, which emphasizes the importance of the free market and minimal state intervention.

Dmitry Nikolaevich concluded his presentation by noting the new ideological split in the United States, where liberals and conservatives take opposing positions on human rights, economic policy, and social values. It is this split that defines modern political and cultural processes.

He noted that historical and cultural processes remain an important context for understanding the development of American society and its future.

Photo: Daria Orlova