The Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE), in cooperation with the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Security Studies, the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), and Austin Peay State University (USA), organized an international academic conference titled “Squaring the Circle: New Global Dynamics” on May 20–21 in Belgrade. Prof. Dr. Feodor Voitilovsky represented the Russian Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), of which he is the director. Experts and researchers from ten countries addressed the conference, with Elke Fimmen presenting the Schiller Institute’s view.
Panel I was dedicated to the present global systemic and power dynamics, including turbulence in the transatlantic. Panel II dealt with “How to reconfigure the global economic order.” Panel III was devoted to “Finding one’s place in the new global dynamic,” which covered the situation in the Middle East, changing geopolitics in Northern Europe, with Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession, the expansion of U.S. Defense Cooperation Agreements, and their impact on Baltic and Arctic security dynamics in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The discussion that took place during Panel II, moderated by Dr. Katarina Zakić, senior Head of the Centre for Chinese Studies at the IIPE, was exemplary of the concern to find constructive solutions for today’s fundamental crisis:
Prof. Dr. Nourhan ElSheikh (Senator and professor at Cairo University) described the global “economic tsunami” caused by the United States by withdrawing from previous international commitments and its tariffs policy and highlighted BRICS as a robust alternative to the traditional IMF–World Bank–SWIFT system, noting that the use of national currencies in trade, exemplified by nearly all Russia-China trade, is reducing reliance on traditional Western systems.
Prof. Dr. Predrag Bjelić of the University of Belgrade addressed the present turmoil caused by sudden tariff increases and constantly changing measures, which create serious disruptions for the global economy. Prof. Dr. Radovan Kastratović of the University of Belgrade presented empirical research on the difference between US and Chinese foreign direct investment from 2015–2023.
