Prof. Anđelko Milardović, PhD

 

Introductory part – Forum Prologue

Geofor was conceived at the Institute for European and Globalization Studies (www.inegs.com) as a part of the Global Risk Society and New Social Paradigm project. The focus of the Forum was on rethinking the global risk society.

The global risk society has its foundation in the theory of reflexive modernization by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck.

The world we inhabit has become an insecure place in the age of the Second Modernity, as a work of the Second Modernization. The Second Modernization has produced risks that transcend the frameworks of nation-states. Risks occur at the local level. An example of this is the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan.

Eventually, the local phenomenon became global in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, one can speak of risk glocalization in a global risk society.

The global risk society, because of the Second Modernization of the world requires risk reflection, awareness and warning of the consequences.

In relation to risks, there is a need for risk management in the wake of national and global risk management. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the weakness of the global management of the Covid-19 pandemic, as a type of global risk society.

The pandemic has strengthened the influence of nation states in managing pandemic risks. Authoritarian tendencies of states have been strengthened. A pandemic as a type of risk has produced a need for emphasized security and restriction of freedoms.

The Forum drew attention to the typology of global risks in the 21st century.

In the future, we will face global climate change, which has already begun, climate migration and migrants, risks related to food, water, energy, resource wars, different types of religious fundamentalism and populism, as the wrong side of midnight of the Second Modernity.

The global type of risk is also recognized in the geopolitical conflict of the ideologies of Atlanticism (West), New Eurasianism (Russia) and New Ottomanism (Turkey). This type of conflict on the ground generates risks that jeopardize peace and stability in Europe and the Balkans.

 

First panel

Challenges of Unbalanced Multipolarity and Geopolitical Risks

Moderator of the first panel: Davor Dijanović, MSc

The first panel Challenges of unbalanced multipolarity and geopolitical risks started with the introductory lecture by the French general Jean-Paul Perruche on the topic of European defense, followed by a lecture on systemic risks and security of the Croatian territory given by Sanja Vujačić, PhD. Professor Daria Karasalihović Sedlar PhD spoke on the current situation of the Nord Stream 2 and other energy related topics. Asst. Prof. Jadranka Polović talked about AUKUS and the idea of the European military forces, while Jure Vujić gave a talk on the geopolitics of the multipolar world and the characteristics of the post-Covid world. Tomislav Kardum, continuing on what had been said, elaborated upon the differences between a unipolar, bipolar and multipolar world.

 

Second panel

From Geopolitics to Geo-internet; Digital Borders, Technological Identities, Securitization of National Virtual Spaces and Geopolitical Risks

Moderator of the second panel: Mislav Vušković

The topic of the second panel of the geopolitical forum GEOFOR was From geopolitics to geo-Internet: digital borders, technological identities, securitization of national virtual spaces and geopolitical risks, with MSc Davor Dijanović (expert in the field of geopolitics, journalist of HKV Portal and columnist of Direktno portal), Biljana Cerin (CEO, Ostendo Consulting, Vice President of the IT Association, President of the Cyber Security Affiliation) and Assoc. Prof. Sandro Gerić PhD (professor at Faculty of Organization and Informatics, Varaždin, expert in cybersecurity) being the speakers. The issues were discussed from a twofold approach, geopolitics, and information security. From a geopolitical perspective, MSc Dijanović talked about the role of social media in the current geopolitical events as a power projection tool based on specific ideologies. On the other hand, the question of information security was approached as a burning issue deeply connected with geopolitics. Biljana Cerin and professor Gerić addressed the issues of the ever-growing number of hacker attacks that represent a risk both for the general population and the critical infrastructure. They also spoke about matters related to AI and privacy protection.

 

Third panel

The Future of European Security in a Global Risk Society

Moderator of the third panel: Assoc. Prof. Marta Zorko, PhD

The third panel, entitled The Future of European Security in a Global Risk Society, addressed global security challenges and their potential impacts on European security. The European security architecture as a potential response to increasing global threats is not fully formed and is out of step. Other important issues are the balance of national security mechanisms of strong EU members defined by their own geopolitical interests, efforts to define a common European foreign policy, security and defense, and redefining relations within North Atlantic Alliance organizations after Brexit. At the third panel, introductory speeches were given by Jean-Christian Cady (France, security expert, member of the IFRI think tank and Executive Board of the Association Française des Nations Unies, former UN Assistant Secretary-General), and Claudine Korall PhD (France, founder and president of the IDII Institute as well as the Intercultural Intelligence Training Institute). Jean-Christian Cady held a presentation entitled How can Europe respond to today’s security challenges? He emphasized the importance of the pillars of European security, which also have their military component, and emphasized the importance of addressing the four sets of challenges facing Europe – terrorism, organized crime, cybercrime and migration flows. Claudine Korall PhD spoke about the importance of intercultural communication for understanding, pointing out its importance in the filed of action in the security sector in her presentation entitled How does intercultural intelligence contribute to European defense?. The moderated panel discussion was attended by Assoc. Prof. Marta Zorko PhD (moderator, University of Zagreb), Tonći Prodan PhD (University of Split), Lina Aburous (Euraffex group), prof. Darko Trifunović PhD (Serbia, director of the Institute for National and International Security) and Antun Krševan Dujmović MSc (Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb). The panelists’ discussion was oriented around three central themes; (dis) the balance and links between transformed traditional and contemporary security challenges; geographically oriented security challenges of the European neighborhood, and the EU’s global positioning in a global risk society with regard to new security realities and geopolitical processes.

 

Zagreb, October 4, 2021

Prof. Anđelko Milardović, PhD, Founder of Geofor, Institute for European and Globalization Studies, Digital Think-tank (www.inegs.com), Split-Zagreb

Mr.sc. Davor Dijanović, expert in the field of geopolitics, journalist of HKV Portal and columnist of Direktno portal

Mislav Vušković, analyst for Italian, Serbian and Hungarian geopolitics

Assoc.Prof. Marta Zorko, PhD, Head of the Department of International Relations and Security Studies at the Faculty for Political Science of the University of Zagreb.

Note

The document was redacted and translated into English by Mislav Vušković, analyst for Italian, Serbian and Hungarian geopolitics.