Dastan Tokoldoshev
Independent Expert
Sir,
One could endlessly discuss and debate the increasingly complex international relations landscape. As well as the multilayered and intricate structure and form the sphere of international security is assuming, especially in the context of the gradually widening split between Western states and Russia. However, one can state with absolute certainty that for a better understanding and a smooth immersion in the subtleties and nuances of this sphere, it is essential to turn to scholarly works that are maximally adapted for a general readership and capable of both enriching the knowledge of existing and experienced researchers and enlightening even those relatively unversed in global politics in accessible language.
PIR Center’s recently released Security Index Yearbook perfectly addresses this challenge. It includes a wealth of research papers, essays, and interviews from experts and scholars on a wide range of aspects of international security: from historical context and theoretical foundations to analysis of current events and forecasting the most likely trends in Russia’s approach to implementing strategic initiatives in the international arena.
The authors’ approach to compiling the Yearbook is distinguished by a commitment to providing easy-to-read and study material: the book itself is conveniently divided into thematic sections, each of which reflects a particular expert’s thought in its own way, and each individual chapter demonstrates a unique style of thought presentation and structure that does not overwhelm the reader.
Security Index Yearbook has high value as a scientific work, in which the ideas and opinions of the authors’ collective cover a wide range of important topics reflected in the current political situation and modern processes of international relations. Particularly noteworthy is the authors’ emphasis on balancing PIR Center’s traditional focus on nuclear security and nonproliferation with issues of building and strengthening diplomatic and other contacts between Russia and the states currently forming the alliance known as the Global South.
Bishkek, September 2025
