The 21st century that we live in has witnessed an array of threat risks which necessitate the reconstruction of the world order. Among the most prominent threat risks are; the regional conflicts around Europe-Eurasia-Asia-Middle East threatening the world security; the radicalization intensified after 09/11 global terrorist attacks; the economies of the fragile Mediterranean countries after the 2008 financial crisis; the slowing down of the growth rate of world economies; the social and political security threats of the countries due to economic problems; the re-emergence of the racism in the aftermath of the strengthening of right-wing parties in Europe; and the catastrophic impacts of the natural disasters on states caused by global warming.

In the first panel titled “Critical Approaches to New Concepts and Conflicts” of the symposium focusing on the recent developments in the global system, new concepts and conflicts in security studies will be addressed. As a consequence of revolutionary developments in military technologies, new war models have emerged involving war robots, laser-guided weapons and computer networks along with decreasing human factors. At the present time, whilst the Fourth Generation Wars aim to supress the political will of enemies by targeting their societies; the Fifth Generation Wars allow soldiers to wage war without leaving their homeland with the help of drones and cyber-attack tactics. The interstate wars are replaced by in-state armed conflicts involving non-state actors such as rebellious groups, terrorist networks, paramilitary groups and organized crime syndicates. Hybrid Wars, involve conventional and unconventional powers, armed forces, civilians, and information warfare through the commonly used social media. In addition to this, the cyber powers, the achievement of dominance over space, the power to influence energy market through shale gas resources are considered to be among the new national power factors.

In the context of regional conflicts, particularly the process of Arab Spring that began after the democratization movements in the Middle East, has intensified the existing instabilities in Northern Africa and the Middle East; and has increased the frequencies of migration from the region to Europe. As a result of the civil war in Syria, the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) out of the security gap caused by the war itself has created severe regional and global security problems also impacting upon Turkey. The tendency of foreign militants within ISIL to return to their home countries also creates a severe security threat for Western countries and particularly for Europe.

In the second panel titled “Transformation of Security: NATO”, the cooperation among members of NATO and the new developments in its institutional structure will be addressed. From the viewpoint of Russia, the interventions by NATO in Central Asia and Eastern European regions geographically close to Russia are widely perceived as interventions aiming to hinder its own national interests. Along these lines for China, the evaluation of NATO is also highly important for a new perspective on global cooperation.

In the final panel titled “Current Regional Conflicts”, current regional conflicts will be addressed. It is widely observed that the recent developments in Afghanistan following the disengagement of the American military forces play a key role on the stability of neighbouring countries in the region. The Ukrainian crisis on the other hand, is commonly regarded as the most dangerous security crisis challenging peace in Europe and the world in the light of Russia’s nuclear capacity at a higher order compared to its capacity during the Cold War period. In this context, the question of “New Cold War?” became one of the most recursive clichés.

We believe that the participants will have the opportunity to evaluate various topics of interest in this symposium focusing on current matters and security studies, wherein esteemed scholars from abroad will give presentations on the aforementioned topics.