BSC Round Table on the New Government in the Federation of BiH

Balkan Studies Center hold its 2nd and 3rd Round table together on the 27th of November 2015 in IUS Senate Room, due to the tight schedule of the speakers who came from Ankara, Turkey. Firstly, Prof. Dr. Birol Akgun, head of International Relations Department at Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara delivered a brief talk on the “Crisis of Governance in Global System and the Case of Balkans”. He stated that after the collapse of a bipolar international system, there is a sort of transition to a multi-polar system. However, due to a decline in the US hegemony, there is a kind of power vacuum which leads to uncertainty and even sometimes chaos, as witnessed in the Middle East. He also mentioned the influence of the decline of liberal norms and policies on the global system and discussed future possibilities such as the rise of Neo-Keynesianism, illiberal democracies or non-democracies.

Secondly, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Sahin of Gazi University in Ankara talked briefly on “For where the Middle East Heading and the Syrian Crisis”. As an academician who frequently visits the Middle East and talk to the politicians as well as ordinary people, he provided first-hand information and analysis on the region. His presentation about the current situation and near future of the region as well as of Syria was not optimistic. He thought that the situation would become worse and that the only solution was the meeting of great powers and major sides of the conflict and finding a common solution together. These brief presentations were followed by questions and answers as well as active discussions by the participants.