As the global order based on Western interests collapses, how will the new reality take shape?
As the global order based on Western interests collapses, how will the new reality take shape?
By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist
In the global arena, there is an environment in which many standards – from human rights to nuclear conventions, from international legal norms to social conventions – are failing, increasing insecurity and shaking the foundations of the so-called “rules-based” world order.
Historically speaking, the global order has been shaped by two major historical turning points, especially in the last century.
The establishment of the United Nations and its institutions in 1945 and the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, followed by the dissolution of the USSR, led the West to declare victory and proclaim a new global order after the end of the Cold War.
Following these developments, the world experienced a unipolar era marked by intense global integration and US leadership in particular.
At this point, however, the balance has completely shifted.
While actors such as China, Russia and Turkey are challenging the old rules based on Western interests and gaining more influence in shaping the global order, the Western world is in complete chaos.
At this point, faith in so-called “Western concepts of universal values” and “norms of international society” has largely eroded, while hypocrisies such as the West’s silence on Israel’s genocide in Gaza have triggered the reshaping of the new world order.
In addition to all these developments, Trump’s strategy against US allies, questioning security guarantees, withdrawing from many international organizations and weakening the foundations of the system by launching trade wars have confirmed that the system based on Western interests has become dysfunctional.
Yes, a world in which the balance of power, not the rules, is likely to be the decisive factor, a world that is very dangerous for small countries and countries that cannot produce strong leaders, awaits us.
It seems that a global structure in which great powers dominate their own regions, establish “backyards” as in the pre-Cold War era, and are divided into blocs is becoming the new reality of the global structure.
“A fairer world is possible”
The ideal scenario is based on Turkish President Erdoğan’s two approaches, which have now entered the global arena.
“A fairer world is possible” and “The world is bigger than 5.”
The rapid developments in the world, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, clearly demonstrate that the UN Security Council and the so-called Bretton Woods institutions have completely lost their functionality and influence.
Giving “developing countries” no more say will further deepen global injustice and create a chaotic order in which the only deterrent is nuclear weapons.
This is because international developments have made it clear that Western norms, from human rights to democracy, are merely an illusion.
Change is inevitable
Today, the global system is being reshaped, and in this process, having strong social dynamics is critical to having a voice in a reshaped and more just and inclusive international order. The end of the masses caught up in the “illusion” and “admiration” of the West and the societies that ignore the values of their country for a “comfortable life” under the name of so-called “freedom” will bring about surrender to the “laws of the jungle” in the new world order with the understanding that “the strong is right”.