The symposium opening speech was made by the Academic Coordinator of the Symposium, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz ÇİLLİLER. In his speech, Çilliler expressed his hope that the symposium will bring solutions with an academic perspective to the problems in the region by emphasizing the importance of the Middle East region for international politics. After Çilliler, the keynote speaker of the symposium Prof. Dr. İbrahim AOUDE, emeritus professor at the University of Hawai-Manoa, presented his paper titled “Palestinian Liberation and Imperialism in West Asia”. In his speech, Aoude problematized the naming of the region “Middle East” by underlining the colonial past of the region and proposed to name it “West Asia and North Africa” by arguing that would be more inclusive. In the rest of his speech, Prof. Aoude qualified the Palestinian Liberation Struggle as a vanguard resistance against Western imperialism and underlined that The International Middle East Symposiums organized by İstanbul Gelişim University serve as an outstanding platform contributing to the understanding of the region.
The symposium was structured in twelve sessions simultaneously held in Turkish and English/Arabic for two days. The first session of the symposium started with the theme of “Democratisation and Authoritarianism” under the presidency of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Annamaria CSIZER. Then Assoc. Prof. Dr. İrem Aşkar KARAKIR, from Dokuz Eylül University, presented her paper titled “Challenges to and Prospects for Democratisation in Tunisia”. Subsequently, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joanna RAK and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Przemyslaw OSIEWICZ, from Adam Mickiewicz University, presented their paper titled “Legitimacy, Repression, and Co-optation as the Factors Stabilizing the Iranian Political Regime”, and Özçan ÇETİN presented his paper with the title “A Study on Amazigh Community and Hirak Movement in Algeria”. The last presentation of the English session was made by Ananda Kumar BISWAS and Farah Naj JAHAN with the title “Effect of Digital Technology on Democracy: A Case Study on Bangladesh”. The second session started right after the discussion part.
The first Turkish session titled “Regional Stability” was headed by Prof. Dr. Neziha MUSAOĞLU and took place simultaneously with the first English session. First, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azime TELLİ, from Mersin University, presented her paper titled “The Impact of Eastern Mediterranean Energy Resources on the Regional Stability”. Then Dr. Selim MİSAFİR presented his paper titled “Western Sahara Impasse: International Court Decisions and Current Developments”. The second session started right after the discussion part.
Headed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Hayriye Asena DEMİRER, in the second English session on "Globalisation and Regionalisation Dynamics", Dr. Fatima BAKDI, from the University of Algiers, presented her paper titled “New Hybrid Perspectives on Globalisation Debates: Rethinking Literature” and then Asst. Prof. Dr. Gökhan TEKİR presented his paper with the title “Revisiting Triangular diplomacy: The Axis of the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Iran” and subsequently the paper titled “Iran and the UN: A Missed Opportunity Towards Regional Stability?" is presented by Shefali RAMASUBRAMANIAN, from the University of Mumbai. Lastly, Mariam UGULAVA, from the Georgian Technical University, presented her paper titled “The Consequences of the Iranian Islamic Revolution on the Modern Muslim World”. The third session started right after the discussion part.
The second Turkish session took place simultaneously with the second English session and it was headed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Ramat ULLAH. First, Gürdal ÇETİNKAYA, from Ankara University, presented his paper with the title “The Attacks of September 11, 2001, and the Endless Operation for Freedom”. Then, Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep ARIÖZ, participating from Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, presented her paper titled “The Impact of Globalization on War: The Syrian Civil War”. After then, Elif GÖK İLAN presented her paper with the title “Middle East and Terrorism” and lastly, Abdullah ÖZÇELİK and Mehmet Hanifi KAYA presented their paper titled “Discussing the Arab Spring Between Hope and Destroyed: A Literature Review”. The third session started right after the discussion part.
The third English session, titled “Migration and Human Security” is headed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Viktoriia DEMYDOVA. The first presentation was made by Prof. Dr. Emilia ALAVERDOV, coming from the Georgian Technical University with the title "The Game of Big Players and Rise of Islamophobia in Europe". Then, Dr. Begüm BURAK presented her paper with the title “The Convergence of the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Western Media”. Then lastly, Elif ŞAHİN and Onur KAYA, from Istanbul Gelişim University, presented their paper titled "Irregular Afghan Migration into Turkey". The fourth session started right after the discussion part.
The third Turkish session taking place simultaneously with the English one was titled “Geopolitical Problems in the Middle East” and chaired by Assist. Prof. Dr. Emre GÜNDOĞDU. In this session, first, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faiq ELEKBERLİ, coming from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, presented his paper titled “Changing Balances in the Middle East and the Organisation of Turkish States” and then Assist. Prof. Dr. Barış ADIBELLİ, from Kütahya Dumlupınar University, presented his paper with the title “Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Iran in the Geopolitics of Middle East”. Lastly, Dr. Bekir HALHALLI, from the University of Kyrenia, presented his paper titled “1973 Oil Crisis: Relations Between Turkey and Gulf Arab Countries”. The fourth session started right after the discussion part.
The fourth English session titled “Regional Conflicts and Civil War” was held under the moderation of Assist. Prof. Dr. İdlir LİKA. First, Dr. Piotr PIETRZAK, from Sofia University, presented his paper titled “A Comparative Study of Russia’s War in Ukraine (2014-,2022-), Russia’s Military Operations in Syria (2011-, 2015-) and Russia’s Aggression in Georgia (2008)”. Then, Sergey TRETYAK, from Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, presented his paper with the title “The Transformation of Russian-Turkish Relations During the Syrian Conflict”. Subsequently, Edriss RASA, participating from the University of Mashhad, presented his paper titled “Pathology of Governments Collapse in Afghanistan”. Then, Tasnuva JAHAN, from Bournemouth University, presented her paper with the title “Shipbreaking: Activities and Liabilities”. Lastly, Assist. Prof. Dr. Dhiffaf Al-Shwillay, from the University of Baghdad, presented her paper titled “Social and Political Changes in Iraq: Towards Non-Sectarian Culture and Folklore”. After the discussion part, the first day of the symposium came to an end.
In parallel with the English session, Asst. Prof. Dr. Fırat DEMİRKOL, from İstanbul Gelişim University, chaired the fourth Turkish session titled “State-Society- System Relations”. In this session, first, Prof. Dr. Neziha MUSAOĞLU, from İstanbul Gelişim University, presented her paper with the title “Discussing the Post-Westphalian Model in the Middle East Through Non-State Military Actors”, and then Asst. Prof. Dr. İlknur KARANFİL presented her paper titled “The Fate of the Revolution in Tunisia: From Parliamentary System to Authoritarianism” and then Necmi ALTINTAŞ presented his paper titled “Migration and Integration”, and lastly Mansur Bakır, from İstanbul Medeniyet University, presented his paper with the title “Power, the Army, and the Subject: A Reinterpretation of the Rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha”. After the presentations, the question and answer part took place and the first day of the symposium came to an end.
On the second day of the symposium, the first session titled “Terrorism and Regional Politics” is chaired by Asst. Prof. Dr. Hiba GHANEM and held in Arabic. In the session, first, Prof. Dr. Tahrir HAMDI, from Arab Open University, presented her paper titled “Decolonizing English Literature Departments in the Arab World” in English. Then, Houcine MENACEUR, from Marmara University, presented his paper with the title “The Algerian Strategy in the Face of Terrorism: From the Security Approach to National Reconciliation”. After the discussion part, the second session started.
In parallel with the first Arabic session, Assist. Prof. Dr. İlknur KARANFİL headed the last Turkish session titled “Regional Crises and Conflicts”. In the Turkish session, first, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet BARDAKÇI, from İstanbul Aydın University, presented his paper with the title “The European Union and Conflict Resolution in Libya”, and then Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elnur KELBİZADEH, from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, presented his paper titled “Azerbaijan-Iran and Armenia-Iran Relations: Assessing the Probability of Transition from Negative to Positive Correlation”. Subsequently, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ceren GÜRSELER, from Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, presented her paper with the title “Will the scenarios of Intifada and apartheid bring resolution to Palestine?”, and lastly Dr. Cihan GÜNYEL presented his paper titled “NATO’s Middle East Policy After Cold War and Its Impact on the Region”. After the question and answer part, the session came to an end, and the second session of the day started.
The second session of the day, titled “Migration and Human Security”, took place in Arabic under the moderation of Assist. Prof. Dr. Hiba GHANEM. First, Prof. Dr. Hadia YAHIAOUI, from the Laghrour University of Khenchela, presented her paper with the title “The Ukrainian Crisis and Asylum in the European Union Countries: Asylum Case Study in France”, and then Asst. Prof. Dr. Aloui AZIZA, from the University of Algiers Brahim Soltane Chaibout, presented her paper titled “The Impact of Legitimacy on Political Stability: A Theoretical Conceptual Study”. Lastly, Dr. Serhane RAACHE, from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Ouargla, and Dr. Abdelhakem ATAOUAT, from The High School of Teaching Ouargla, presented their paper with the title “Opportunities for the Integration of Muslim Immigrants in the European Union”. After the question and answer part, the last session of the symposium started.
The third and last Arabic session titled “Finance, Economic Development and Prosperity” was headed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Mahasen Mohamed BADRA. First, Prof. Dr. Hussein Suleiman Mohammed AHMED presented his paper titled “Achieving Economic Development in the Middle East Leads to Political and Social”, and then Abdelheq DAHMAN, from Marmara University, presented his paper “The Importance of Government Style in Implementing the Sustainable Development Agenda: Algeria as A Case Study”. Lastly, Djilali SOUADI, from the University of Jilali, Bounaama, Khemis Miliana, presented his paper titled “Administrative Corruption: Causes, Consequences, and Reform”. After the discussion part, the symposium came to an end.
