The Presidency's Head of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, delivered a speech at the opening of the 10th TRT World Forum, held this year at the İstanbul Congress Centre under the theme ‘A World Without a Centre: Who Leads When the Rules Run Out?
Head of Communications Duran expressed his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for honouring the Forum with his presence, noting that the event raises a question of profound importance for the contemporary world.
Noting that, as it has done for the past decade, the TRT World Forum had once again brought together guests from diverse regions, cultures and intellectual traditions, Head of Communications Duran expressed his hope that this year's gathering of the platform, which has evolved into an international brand under President Erdoğan's vision, would open up new horizons for the common future of humanity.
Head of Communications Duran said, “The international system is experiencing a fundamental shift in the geopolitical axis and a structural crisis. While the number of centres of power is increasing, shared rules are being eroded. As global competition intensifies, the sense of shared responsibility is waning. While the world is becoming increasingly decentralised, the number of decisions shaping humanity’s future is growing, even as the political will of those responsible for ensuring accountability for these decisions is steadily weakening."
Emphasising that as the space for peace narrows under the current order, the risks of conventional warfare and proxy conflicts are mounting, Head of Communications Duran said that the struggle for control over artificial intelligence and digital technologies is creating new power dynamics, while techno-fascism raises the spectre of technology becoming a tool of domination.
"As threats become globalised, solutions are becoming nationalised"
Head of Communications Duran went on to note that international institutions are progressively losing their effectiveness in addressing these threats, adding:
"Moreover, this is happening at a time when challenges requiring global solidarity are on the rise, ranging from the climate crisis and migration to pandemics and food security. As threats become globalised, solutions are becoming increasingly nationalised. We see the most striking example of this structural crisis in Gaza. The genocide taking place in full view of the world lays bare the international system’s failure not only to prevent crises, but also to uphold peace, justice and human dignity—the very principles that justify its existence. And therein lies the greatest paradox of the international order. While a destructive form of decentralisation is eroding the existing order, a vacuum that creates the conditions for building a fairer international order is emerging."
Drawing parallels between the current international landscape and the period between the two World Wars, Head of Communications Duran said, "At the time, too, great power rivalry was intensifying, economic protectionism was spreading, and international institutions were becoming increasingly ineffective. Humanity was only able to establish a new international architecture after a devastating conflict that claimed millions of lives. Today, we are living in a period when the possibility of a Third World War is being discussed. But must we go through the same historical cycle? Can we not summon the founding resolve of 1945 without experiencing the catastrophe of 1939? This is the fundamental question we will seek to answer at this forum. Under the leadership of our President, our answer to this question is clear: ‘History does not have to repeat itself.’”
“We propose a form of founding pluralism centred on building a new international order”
Head of Communications Duran emphasised that coming to the negotiating table after widespread devastation may be a necessity, whereas forging a new consensus before such devastation requires political will. Duran stated, “What the world needs is not the victors of another war, but the architects of a new peace. Undertaking peacefully today the kind of institutional reform that followed a major war in the past is one of the greatest political challenges of our time."
Head of Communications Duran stated that, under President Erdoğan’s leadership, they had been advocating precisely this historic choice for nearly a quarter of a century and continued as follows:
"By declaring that ‘The world is bigger than five’, he draws attention to the lack of representation and justice in the international system, and through his call that ‘A fairer world is possible’, he transforms this objection into a determination to build a new international order. As Türkiye, we believe that the way to bring stability to a decentralising world is not to create a new dominant centre, but to bring different centres of power together on the basis of shared responsibility and the rule of law. We propose a form of foundational pluralism centred on a more balanced distribution of power, more inclusive representation, and the establishment of a new international order based on shared responsibility."
Head of Communications Duran stated that various actors around the world now recognised that the need for reform, long deferred in the past, could no longer be postponed. He added that Türkiye would continue to contribute to fulfilling this historic responsibility through its political will and vision.
Emphasising that an important aspect of this responsibility was to strengthen the intellectual and institutional foundations of diplomacy, Head of Communications Duran concluded his remarks as follows:
“As the Directorate of Communications, we seek to complement the summit diplomacy conducted by Your Excellency with the forum diplomacy we have developed in line with your vision. Through the STRATCOM Summits, we bring together in İstanbul, each year, discussions that shape the international agenda on communication and security. At the ‘Allies in Ankara’ programme, which we organised in cooperation with the Munich Security Conference and SETA on the occasion of the NATO Summit, we discussed the future of global security. At the Turkic World Dialogue Forum, held as part of the Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States, we addressed the shared future of the Turkic world. Next month, we will organise a similar forum during the Africa-Türkiye Summit.”