The United States as the most active actor of international relations and international security in the last century, those primarily over Atlantic oriented and it is now dominantly over pacific oriented. This reflects tectonic changes that have been taking place in world affairs international relations, international security, business development and many aspects of security. The Eurocentric world as we use to know for last few centuries this is not exists any longer. The global domain of power primarily meaning military, economic, cultural and technological do not reside primarily in Europe any longer. And significant change was marked by year 1994 when the center of the world trade moved from the Europe to North Pacific Area. Meaning that economic center or domain of power move Europe to Pacific and later on other domains of power also moved to that area. And Europe globally is less and less contributing to world affairs relations and security. It just the illustrate this statement.
The end of World War II, Europe was contributing with more than 50% of world economy and world’s GDP. Today is less than 20%. At the end of the World War II Europe was participating with more than 25% of the world population. Now is far below %10 and Trans are even more negative for Europe. Bosnia Herzegovina belonging to the area of the Balkan’s peninsula is centrally located and I will say one of the key actors of the stability of the Balkans and would Balkans represent. It is linked between orient and occident between Europe and Asia. It links Mediterranean with central Europe Adriatic with Black Sea Region, it links cultures, it links civilizations. And it is very relevant for the topic and the notion the Conference we are part of. And the world as we changing in many other aspects in our relation towards the nature and possibly some arguably other words as well.
Powerly that the threats are constantly changing and there are urily energic and urily growing threats and what is very important those threats are very often interconnected usually linked and much more complex and difficult when they are present in some kind of jointless. All these positive aspects of globalizations have made many benefits to the developed society. Three movement of people ideas they those communications, technologies. But that also provided that all these security threats, risks and challenges have become global and no country regardless of its sides strengths and minds can’t provide its own security and its own any longer. They are fall interdependence has become one of the major futures of international relations and international security affects the strongest countries of the world and let alone to smaller ones. Seek of all over change is constantly growing and it is not growing by kind of linear function it is growing exponentially and that is also very relevant.
For application of some innovations in the past it will take decays even longer. Now it is the matter of years and months. That’s spread of technological improvements, organization of changes and emerging threats is even getting faster by the pastures time. And if you want to put a single person into perspective we could fine much more pressure on an individual, much more complex demands upon single man that is used to be in the previous times and years. So when we think about security in modern terms, despite effects we won’t to think globally and locally and synchronize some of the globally relevant threats with demands neat our small local structure. We need to think about individual collective organizational and other aspects of the security of the single person. If we go into the details of security, we more and more have to think about mental dimension of the individuals functions and health. In that respect think about emotional intelligence which is becoming much more important and relevant for the modern political, business, security, technological, cultural and other environments than was the case with cognitive intelligence which in the previous times would be fine someone’s intelligence or simply being smart.
Today being smart release much more not to IQ meaning intelligence one’s much more to peak you, emotional codes. We now speak in area of intelligence about ecological intelligence. If we are not in harmony with ecosystem with environment, with environmentally dimension of living; all these technological, organizational, political and security improvements are going to be nonsense. If we do not provide the good harmony with nature and with environment, I won’t speak about the higher level of adjustments and communications for those who whooshing as we discuss the interactions of level of law starting with state law speaking about international law and natural law and gods law we also mind applied pretty much same criteria when we speak about security. We also need to just ourselves in all these dimensions of security. Meaning at the level of individual state in the national environment, nature and gods’ dimension.
State security systems are traditionally one of the most important structures of the state and they are growing more and more complex and more and more comprehensive. With all these nearly emerging threats, it is more and more difficult to determine what is the most important state security structure of element. Is it some kind of medical laboratory or institute or research institute but if we speak about potentially global, pandemic or other medical threats? Is it migration office or migration organization trying to find illegal migrations? And all risks and threats associate it within because illegal migration do not count by themselves. Basically almost all other security threats associate within. Is that an environmental office or institute? Is that financial, economic, energy, structure, organization, ministry? Is it cyber cell or cyber institute or cyber threat finding organizational capacity? Cyber threats has already been mentioned at this Conference. Cyber has threat the new real of security with all these cyber links and threats and possibilities.
The world is no longer just geographic or physical entity. The world has become virtual network entity. And the year 2000 March moment in history when the number of all devices link to network. Suppose the number of people living on our planet. And it created to the fifth dimension of the war apart from land, sea, earth and space.
Cyber has become the part of nor just war nor just the communication, technology, security but also it has become inevitable, irreplaceable part of daily life. But very much stronger and faster effects the security and the many other security threats. It has more decade German police reported the rubbery of every single supermarket in Germany starts in cyber dimensions, it starts some kind of Facebook profiles or some social media with some kind of encrypted communication of the participants of the robbery. So, all these security threats urily growing faster and faster developing and more and more usually interconnected.
Very important dimension of the security thinking and practice is related to fact that criminals and members of all kinds of organizes try activities or other illegal activities and to be more flexible, faster moving and better cooperating than state structures. We need to that mental shift, the paradigm shift and come to the point where we act faster and better than the criminals.
We just have a few words about the country. I’m coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina represents very beautiful part of the Balkans, not being so big one as diversifies as any country of the world. And throughout millennium our history use to serve some use as division space of civilizations, cultures, empires, churches and influences, but some with positive riving argue that it was connecting point at rich of civilizations, cultures. And I don’t think that is part of that is better reflected in relation with the same that peace come from neighbors, war comes from neighbors.
In case of wars of Herzegovina, wars were always imported, never exported, never Bosnia and Herzegovina attack is neighbors, it is the always the other way around. That never those effects an aggressive war succeeded in conquering Bosnia and Herzegovina. And we still see at this political seen security theatre of all our country, political rhetorics and presents of globally relevant powers. So as participant of day to negotiations I could tell you that there is no significant actor of world affairs of in 1905 that was not the represented day to negotiations which basically end up the war the four years long regression war of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Now, we are listening to United Nations Security Council‘s discussion last night, and all those countries had a lot the say we see all aspirations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina linked with some changing global and regional, environmental aspects. We called that wisdom and strength of the defenders of extension and continue Bosnia and Herzegovina will prevail. And there are some authors and analysts of international relations and security who speak about clash of civilizations and trying to use example of the aggression above Bosnia and Herzegovina as an illustration to these thesis.
I could surely argue that there is no substantiation in those claims and I don’t believe that civilization in itself is about clashes. I believe is against clashes and against violence. I believe we the real dilemma is not whether we speak about clash of civilizations exists or not but simply we fight for civilizations or against it. Because those theorists are arguing that in Bosnia and Herzegovina clash of civilizations happened are basically against to assents of civilizations. And I believe that those attends to use some changing international relations and security aspects for the safe of long existing ideologies and politics will fail again as they failed in some previous instants of history. And that we will have the support and presents of freedom, justice and peace loving world as we use have some previous aspects that will do it our friends and allies and that also we will do our bests that we know through the guarantors of the stability and security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and we will continue to do we real count upon the support of all possible natures from the world. So just the concluded my all over the remarks, I would say that due to the obvious changing that are affecting the whole world is international relations and international and national security, we all need to increase our speed of action work, constantly to improve our constructivism because only constructive approach improve thinks.
We need to elevate the value and level of comprehensiveness in our approach because things and threats are becoming less and less complex. We need to employ the new values like emotional intelligence and ecological intelligence on individual basis or collective basis, cultural diplomacy we need to work smart there and stronger if we want to keep peace with the faster growing and more demanding requirements of security risks threats and challenges.
( Dr. Selmo CIKOTIC, Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Opening Speech Transcript, 7th Istanbul Security Conference, 04 November 2021 )
