A panel titled “Rules, Power and Transition: Mapping Today’s Global Order” has recently been organized by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Center for Strategic Studies (EMU-CSS) in collaboration with PUGWASH International Relations Club. From a multidimensional perspective, the panel addressed wars, economic crises, the weakening of international institutions, and the ongoing transformation in global politics from a rules-based order to one driven by power-based relations.

The panelists were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip Yalman, a retired academic staff member of Middle East Technical University; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Umut Bozkurt, a faculty member of EMU Department of Political Science and International Relations; and, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Moncef Khaddar, a scholar renowned for his studies on international relations, human rights and politics in the Middle East. Chair of EMU Center for Strategic Studies Assist. Prof. Dr. Gülay Umaner Duba moderated the panel.

The first speaker of the panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip Yalman, delivered a presentation titled “Crisis, International Order and War”, in which he examined the relationship between crisis, the international order and war. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yalman emphasized that the contemporary international order is undergoing a profound transformation not only through changes in institutional structures but also in the context of hegemony, capitalist crises, and the dynamics of war.

Next, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Umut Bozkurt delivered a presentation titled “Capitalism, Democratic Legitimacy, and the Erosion of the Liberal International Order”, addressing topics of capitalism, democratic legitimacy, and the erosion of the liberal international order. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bozkurt drew attention to the impact of neoliberal transformations on democratic institutions and societal legitimacy, emphasizing that democratic backsliding constitutes a significant dimension of the current crisis of the global order.

The panel’s final speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Moncef Khaddar, delivered a presentation titled “Imperial Chaos and the Quest for Justice: The Iran-U.S./Israel Conflict and Its Ripple Effects”, in which he examined the dynamics of the conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, as well as its regional and global repercussions. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khaddar argued that, in today’s international environment, where power politics has become the defining force, the concepts of justice, sovereignty, and human rights must be fundamentally re-examined.

Held with strong participation and interaction, the panel featured comprehensive discussions, guided by questions from the audience, on topics such as the erosion of the rules-based international order, the rise of power politics, the impact of neoliberalism on democratic legitimacy, imperial conflicts, and the quest for global justice. The panel concluded by offering a multidimensional platform for discussion on the future of today’s global order.