The 2nd Istanbul Security Conference

4 minute reading time

The 2^nd Istanbul Security Conference was organized by TASAM on November 2-4, 2016. ORSAM organized a panel on the second day of the conference, entitled “The Middle Eastern Security Issue and Turkey”. The panel was moderated by ORSAM President Assoc. Prof. Saban Kardas, and the presentations entitled “An Analysis on Turkish Speaking DAESH Supporters” by ORSAM visiting researcher Bedi Celik, “Terror and Internet: An Analysis Centered on DAESH” by ORSAM research assistant Sertac Canalp Korkmaz, “Syrian Civil War and Turkey” by ORSAM researcher Oytun Orhan, “Radicalism, Violent Extremism and Turkey’s Fight Against Them” by ORSAM visiting researcher Goktug Sonmez, and  “Conflict Dynamics in Iraq and Security Balance” by Bilgay Duman were made.

ORSAM visiting researcher Mr. Bedi Celik presented his study entitled “An Analysis on Turkish Speaking DAESH Supporters”. Celik referred to the existence of dozens of studies in foreign countries on DAESH supporters using Twitter, and addressed the need for similar studies analyzing Turkish speaking DAESH supporters. In Celik’s presentation, outcomes of tweets shared in various specific periods of time were presented, the primary agenda of Turkish speaking DAESH supporters was shown to be the PKK terrorist organization. Also, it was stated that the majority of the supporters’ tweets were published using mobile devices, and various data on the usability of the internet and technology by terrorist organizations were shared with the audience.

In the presentation entitled “Terror and Internet: An Analysis Centered on DAESH” by ORSAM assistant researcher Sertac Canalp Korkmaz, the relationship between terror and internet and the terrorist groups’ ability to closely follow the developments in the online world were addressed. Korkmaz stated that with the internet, terrorist organizations obtained a costless means of propaganda, and that thanks to its online infrastructure, ISIS is able to transmit its published magazines to millions of people in different languages.

In the presentation entitled “Syrian Civil War and Turkey” by ORSAM researcher Oytun Orhan, it was expressed that the Syrian civil war was began as a national crisis but has become an international one in the current state of affairs. Orhan stated that although at first the multiplicity of actors in the Syrian civil war emerged as a simple equation, in the point at which we stand it presents a highly complex structure.

In his presentation entitled “Radicalism, Violent Extremism and Turkey’s Fight Against Them” ORSAM visiting researcher Mr. Goktug Sonmez first addressed the conceptual dimension of radicalism and violent extremism. Later, Sonmez stressed the dynamics of the radicalization process, the marginalization of the individual as well as the influence of religion in these processes. He stated that only a small portion of terrorist attacks in Europe as well as wars taking place in the world were religiously motivated, and therefore argued that the negative public discourse against Muslims contradicts with this reality. Expressing Turkey's active role in fighting against both radicalism and terrorism, Sonmez stressed Turkey's improved border security, the measures it has taken against foreign terrorist fighter mobilisation and its efforts against radicalization in prisons.

Finally, ORSAM researcher Bilgay Duman, in his presentation entitled “Conflict Dynamics in Iraq and Security Balance” pointed out the existence of various conflict dynamics on Iraqi soil both on the regional and national levels, and stated that the weakness of the central government in Iraq also contributed to this growth of conflictual dynamics. Besides, Duman pointed out that different actors such as the Shi'i militia, Hashd Shaabi, DAESH, the peshmerga and the Iraqi army are all trying to fill a security vacuum that emerged across Iraq.  He emphasized the serious threat posed by the conflicts among these actors both for Iraq and other countries in the region.