Dr. Cüneyt Gürer, professor of Transnational Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, spoke at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, Jan. 18, 2023.   

Invited to lecture twice, Gürer first presented on how international security structure changed at the global level over the decades. He also analyzed the changing security priorities and security perception of global actors in the contemporary era which allowed various non-state threats to converge in different parts of the globe. 

“There are structural changes on the international security domain caused by the Russian attack to Ukraine,” he said. 

Gürer closed by talking about the potential impact of strategic competition among global actors on the security priorities of various nations.

In a second lecture on the lessons learned from conflict dynamics and emergence of illicit markets, Dr. Gürer discussed how conflict and war create opportunities for illicit markets to emerge.

“In many cases, not only do they prolong the conflict but they are a driving force in the post conflict era,” he said. 

Looking some the previous conflict examples, Gürer assessed the international responses to prevent illicit markets during the conflict and explained policy options to reduce the impact of illicit markets during and after the conflict.