GSU-CIBER had the honor of hosting visiting faculty members from Sabanci University last week, including Professor Fuat Keyman, Director of Istanbul Policy Center, Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Social Impact, and Professor of International Relations. Professor Keyman has conducted extensive research and written copiously on the political and social trends in Turkey, urban transformation, and living together in Anatolian cities.
Professor Keyman addressed common issues which affect the international business area and relations between the United States and Turkey as the keynote speaker during a luncheon hosted by the Atlanta Council on International Relations (ACIR) in collaboration with GSU-CIBER and Global Atlanta.
During his presentation, Professor Keyman opened by describing the work of American philosopher John Dewey, who was invited by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1924 to help with transforming Turkey into a modernized country. Professor Keyman used the education reform recommendations from John Dewey to introduce the concepts of rules-based multilateralism vs. flexible alliances. Professor Keyman also spoke about current issues such as Syrian refugees in Turkey, security agreements with Libya, and leverage for Russia.
In his closing remarks, Professor Keyman acknowledged that while Turkey is still a member of the Western military alliance, US-Turkey relations have suffered a crisis of trust through a divergence of security priorities, noting that bilateral relations are being held together on the surface level through personal relationships between Presidents Trump and Erdogan. In order to unlock the potential for successful relations, leaders of both nations who have political power should shift focus towards diplomacy and de-escalation through multilateralism, and all parties could benefit from a greater focus on education and economic relations just as they did almost a hundred years ago with the recommendations from John Dewey.
For further reading, please see the story published by Global Atlanta.