Middle East conference held: Conflict, peace, and power balances at the center

The “International Relations Conference: Middle East,” organized by the Istanbul Medipol University International Relations Society, brought together academics and students to address the historical background of the Middle East, its current political ruptures, and the dynamics of conflict and peacebuilding. Held at the South Campus Conference Hall, the event approached the region’s colonial legacy, external interventions, security architecture, identity-based conflicts, and the limitations of international peace mechanisms from a multidimensional perspective.

The event, structured into three sessions, featured Retired Brigadier General Prof. Esat Arslan; Prof. Esra Albayrakoğlu, faculty member at Bahçeşehir University; Assist. Prof. Murat Genç from Istanbul Medipol University; and Assist. Prof. Esra Merve Boztosun Çalışkan as speakers. Drawing on their expertise, the speakers offered analyses that questioned entrenched assumptions about the Middle East, providing students with the opportunity to reconsider the region in its historical, political, and societal dimensions.