When conference participants try to foresee the future, they often look at the current balance of power. Most academics are interested in the global strategic configuration, and they usually reserve too little time for the expectations of the people living in the countries where the conferences are held. This is not a new feature of academic gatherings in Turkey.
Until recently, the majority of international relations conferences in Turkey were about the European Union and almost all these gatherings added “and Turkey” to the end of their topic titles. In these meetings, auditors were generally indifferent to discussions of the union's rules and practices. They were more interested in discussing member countries' strategies. Moreover, they weren't equally curious about every European country; they listened much more willingly to discussions about the policies of France, the UK or Germany. All debates on the EU would eventually turn into a discussion about Turkey's future, centering on one of two questions: “Will Turkey be able to join in the EU one day?” and “Will they let Turkey in?”
Presentations and questions in scholarly meetings on the Middle East reveal that the Turkish public believes that foreign actors who play an important role in the region are also the ones who will affect Turkey's future. Truthfully, this assumption is not completely wrong. Nevertheless, during some meetings, I have also witnessed that young people -- university students and young academics -- are increasingly trying to comprehend other aspects of international problems in addition to their strategic outcomes. For example, questions asked during a March 18th conference at the University in Çanakkale mostly addressed the purposes of the Middle Eastern nations. The audience wanted to discuss what kind of regimes the people in this region are really willing to establish. It seems that the Turkish public has finally also begun to think about the ordinary people's future and not only about “high politics.”
The historians I met there have the privilege of living near places of crucial importance to Turkey's ancient and modern history, like Troy and Gallipoli. Young people have learned to question what they have been told both about Turkey and the foreign world, and this positive change is surely the outcome of this university's academic staff.
In conferences to discuss the EU (even though this subject is far less popular now than it was a few years ago) or the Middle East, people still try to understand Turkey's policies and attitudes and then discuss what Ankara should do in the future. Few people try to figure out what we as citizens can or must do. Yet, when you remind the audience that they also have to ask themselves what they can do to help the people in this region of the world, you meet a lot of enthusiasm. This enthusiasm gives me the impression that perhaps the younger generation will be less suspicious of other nations' alleged bad intentions and conspiracies against Turkey. Such a suspicion could easily exist in a place like Çanakkale for historical reasons; that is why this new and constructive psychology is so striking in this city.
