2025 was yet another year that could be characterized by international chaos. But chaos, in and of itself, is not necessarily bad or terrifying. The ancient Greeks believed chaos was the very foundation of everything. In more recent times, physicists and mathematicians have come to see chaos as a natural phenomenon that explains much of the world around us.

In everyday life, we call chaos a state of total confusion. But who could have guessed that this confusion would become a permanent feature of the world we live in? Above all, I mean this in the context of international relations. There is no sign of peace anywhere; instead, chaos seems to reign everywhere.

Chaos is also a condition from which something new can emerge. Perhaps something better than what came before, but we can't rule out the possibility that it could also be far worse. In any case, some countries have come to believe that generating chaos — or to put it more mildly, confusion — might actually help them achieve their goals. After all, chaos breeds insecurity, helplessness and fear.

One country that is deliberately trying to sow chaos is Russia. As a result, chaos has even gained a new name: in Russian, it's dvizhukha, a term that's difficult to translate, but could be likened to "action." Some clever minds have already suggested that Moscow — more precisely, Vladimir Putin, who has used the term — is introducing a new Russian word into international parlance, alongside earlier imports like sputnik, perestroika and glasnost.

The term "chaos" was arguably first popularized globally in the 1990s by the American Steven Mann through his writings on chaos theory and the art of strategy. He viewed the strategic use of chaos as the only viable path to establishing long-term world order. Since then, many have interpreted all U.S. foreign policy moves as applications of controlled chaos.

This idea became tangible when Donald Trump was elected president for the first time. The man behind this semi-controlled chaos was Trump's then-strategic adviser Steve Bannon who openly described himself as a Leninist — someone who, like Lenin, wanted to destroy the state. His aim was to tear everything down, right to the foundations. While Bannon has seemingly vanished from view during Trump's second term, it's said he still helps shape many of Trump's ideas and suggests ways to put them into action.

In this shared project of dismantling the existing world order, the U.S. administration and the Kremlin now find themselves as allies. Both seek to destroy the European Union, toss democracy into the trash, wipe out existing international rules and values and bring new, albeit still vaguely defined, regimes to power in every country. All of this, of course, under the leadership and continuing control of Moscow and Washington. The idea being that the two powers will simply divide countries and regions among themselves, provided they can strike the right deal.

As for a possible third player — China — it had already devised its own concept of "unrestricted warfare" back in the early 1990s. This strategy included disinformation, financial manipulation, cyberattacks and more. In Chinese philosophy, chaos is essentially at the core of everything as the basis for all existence.

Russia, meanwhile, has a tendency to give its chaos-oriented activity a scientific gloss. For this, it uses the Valdai Discussion Club whose annual forums are attended by Putin himself and which aim to lend intellectual legitimacy to ongoing events. The latest example is the Valdai Club's report titled "Doctor Chaos." Once you sweep away the intellectual smog, the report reveals the goals of Russian authorities — though these are presented as reactions to supposedly real processes Russia must respond to.

So what does it say about the world order? In broad strokes, it talks about the collapse of a unipolar world, the end of the post-Yalta order and even the possible demise of the international system established by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Let's recall that this treaty laid the groundwork for modern international relations based on the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

The Valdai Club's chaos theory can be summarized in five key principles. First, the old world cannot be restored. Those trying to preserve it — mainly the West — are doomed to fail. Second, chaos is inherently unmanageable. Therefore, the focus shifts from restoring global order to mere survival and adaptation.

Third, every actor is ultimately on their own. Us-vs-them paradigms disappear, replaced by the principle of everyone for themselves. Every position can change depending on the shifting balance of cost and benefit. Profit justifies all actions; any connection that threatens loss can be abandoned.

Fourth, universality and justice are dead. Morality and ethics no longer have a place in politics. Every action can be justified by national interest and any constraint can be considered misguided or hostile. And fifth, the theory declares that military power is the key to survival.

The authors of this theory argue that as a new world order emerges, the frequency of conflicts will inevitably increase. Conflicts can no longer be resolved based on legal norms or the institutions that once upheld them. War, including the threat of nuclear war, has been normalized under chaos theory.

Valdai's theorists conclude that military force remains the primary guarantor of state stability. With that, Russia's actions seem to gain a theoretical foundation. Neither Russia nor Putin personally appears to bear any responsibility since it is global chaos that is dismantling the rules and their very foundations. Based on the primacy of military force, internal actions, such as the general militarization of society, are no longer seen as temporary measures, but as permanent features.

And so we live in a world where events unfold as rapidly as in a film and everything seems important. No sooner have we recovered from the noise of one crisis than a new wave crashes over us.

But in these murky waters, it's the murk-makers themselves who feel most at home. For KGB man Putin, this is a familiar environment — after all, he was trained to create it. On the U.S. side, it's a familiar world for businessmen, some of whom once helped launder Russian criminal money through real estate, where signing and breaking contracts is just another day at the office and everything depends on maximizing profit and avoiding loss.

We live in interesting times. All that's left to say is: Waiter, a glass of red wine, please...

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