A panel was held today in Sarajevo on the thesis "The World Is Bigger Than Five" presented by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Türkiye in his book of the same name, which was also published in Bosnian.
The panel, organised by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye, was held as part of the "Stratcom Public Forum" project, conducted in 20 world capitals.
The panel began with a video message from the Presidency's Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun.
A roundtable meeting was organised with faculty members from the country's leading universities as well as representatives from think tanks and media organisations.
The roundtable meeting was followed by a panel discussion themed "A Fairer World is Possible," moderated by Dr. Bengü Çelenk, a faculty member at Ahi Evran University, featuring Prof. Šaćir Filandra from the University of Sarajevo, retired Ambassador Prof. Enver Halilović from Tuzla University, Prof. Ahmet Alibašić from the Faculty of Islamic Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, and Assoc. Prof. Mustafa Krupalija from the International Relations Department at the International University of Sarajevo.
Prof. Filandra said, "We are witnessing the rebirth of neocolonialism as the strong irresponsibly attempt to usurp others' property today, in other words, the transformation of the world into a real estate market. Such materialist and instrumental reductionist tendencies have long been supported by international institutions as well. For decades, these institutions have remained indifferent at times of global crises, passively observing instead of taking action to prevent injustice."
Prof. Alibašić, who also has expertise in political sciences, emphasised that Türkiye is proposing a model of solidarity. Alibašić went on to say, "While some countries, such as China and Russia, are focusing on challenging Western dominance in international institutions, President Erdoğan points to Türkiye as a positive example, especially with regard to its humanitarian policy towards refugees. Türkiye hosts 4 million refugees, most of whom are Syrians, while Western countries impose restrictions and close their borders."
Assoc. Prof. Mustafa Krupalija from the International University of Sarajevo noted that we are undergoing a period of significant sociological transformation, emphasising that politicians need to fully understand the dynamics of this period, where the old has faded but the new has yet to fully emerge. Krupalija added, "Those who identify illegal migration as Europe's foremost security concern, while simultaneously implementing stringent measures to curb it, suggest that the mass displacement of individuals could serve as a definitive resolution to the security challenges in the Middle East." Assoc. Prof. Krupalija highlighted that in a world where virtue and integrity are not considered fundamental and values are disintegrating, a fairer world can only be achieved by uniting around institutions that can uphold universal values.
Retired Ambassador Prof. Enver Halilović stated that Europe has difficulty seeing President Erdoğan's call for "A Fairer World Is Possible" through their ideological lenses and opined that the framework presented by President Erdoğan in his book, which does not exclude the UN and includes a General Assembly as a legislative body with all countries as members and a 20-member security council offering broader representation, aligns with a classical Western, republican, and liberal democratic vision.
The panel, which also featured a photo exhibition with the theme "Century of Türkiye," concluded with the screening of a documentary titled "Devrim" about the life and art of painter Devrim Erbil.