Prof. İsmail Numan Telci, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at our University, took part as a speaker in the panel titled “National Will and Democratic Resilience: July 15 on Its 10th Anniversary”, organized in the Netherlands by the Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye.
Held in the conference hall of the Barbizon Palace Hotel in Amsterdam, the panel also featured former Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Mehdi Eker and President of the Turkish Maarif Foundation Mahmut Mustafa Özdil among speakers.
The program opened with an address by Ceren Yazgan, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to The Hague, and the participants examined the impact of the coup attempt on Türkiye from different perspectives.
In his speech, which focused on the effects of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt particularly on Türkiye's foreign policy, Prof. Telci stated that Türkiye has pursued a far more independent and active foreign policy in the period following the coup attempt. In this context, he noted that Ankara has become a decisive actor especially in crisis zones such as Syria, Libya, and Somalia, and highlighted Türkiye's critical role in the failure of the 2017 political blockade of Qatar.
Prof. Telci also pointed out that the progress achieved particularly in the defence industry is likewise linked to the failure of the July 15 coup attempt.
Following the panel, the participants met with representatives of the Turkish civil society community living in the Netherlands and attended the opening of a July 15–themed photography exhibition. A screening of the film "15/07 Şafak Vakti" (Dawn) was also held as part of the commemoration program organized with Dutch-based Turkish civil society organizations.
