Presidency’s Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, penned an article titled "Time for G20 to Take the Initiative" for Al Jazeera, reflecting on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's participation in the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil.
Our world is experiencing a spiral of severe crises. While conventional threats such as hunger, drought, civil war and genocide continue in many parts of the world, the race for control over new phenomena such as technology, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies that have the potential to challenge the established order is rising.
The international system, which promises a stable world, falls short of preventing violations of its founding principles and navigating today's complex challenges. This highlights why comprehensive reforms are needed to address shared concerns. Unfortunately, the global system, which includes normative principles such as the minimisation of conflicts and wars, the prevention of global catastrophes, solidarity in the face of any crise, and the elimination of economic and social injustices, has moved further away from these goals than ever before. A state of irregularity that maximally benefits only certain countries and interest groups is about to become the new normal of the system. It is no longer an option, but a necessity, to take new measures, with shared wisdom and will, to prevent this scenario from becoming a reality, which will mean the catastrophe of large masses, regardless of country, ethnic origin or social affiliation.
Today, when a fairer world is needed more than ever, the rules adopted and built by the international system has been rudely violated by some states. Israel's attacks on Palestine and Lebanon are the most striking and latest example of the violation of international law in every sense. Our President, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has expressed on every platform that the Israeli aggression must be stopped for regional peace and global stability. But the idea that Israel is protected by the international system has become widely accepted on a global scale.
Moreover, the superpowers’ hypocritical, discriminatory and conflict-fostering actions, especially in the last quarter century, have deprived them of the legitimacy to play a leading role in a new order. Besides, a world system in which the majority of countries and peoples are exploited for the interests and benefits of these superpowers is not acceptable. International organisations and states with a privileged position in the existing system must first understand this reality and adjust their strategies for the new era accordingly.
In this context, I would like to highlight Türkiye’s constructive role in the context of peace building: Türkiye’s mediation role for the ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its initiatives to build the Black Sea grain deal has a vital role in preventing the global food crisis. Today, as in the past, Türkiye will continue contributing to regional and global peace, stability and conflict. Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's repeated calls for "The world is bigger than five" and "A fairer world is possible" point to the means, the will and the capacity to overcome these crises.
The Potential Role of G20 for a Fairer World
It is essential that international organisations urgently take responsibility for building a fairer and more equitable system. The G20, which consists of 19 developed and rising economies, including the EU and the African Union, has important potential for a more stable global international financial system. This indicates the critical role of the G20 in the face of crises and the need to develop more effective mechanisms against growing risks.
The theme of the G20 Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 18-19 November 2024 is "Building a Fairer World and a Sustainable Planet". Despite such a meaningful theme, it is necessary to underline the following fact; Although focused on economic issues, the G20 cannot remain indifferent to unjust and distorted practices in international politics.
The role that the G20 will play in the face of the crises and conflicts that our world is experiencing will determine the future of the organisation and its members. In this sense, the G20 and its members have important opportunities to take fundamental steps towards building a new international order. First and foremost, it is the responsibility of the G20 and each of its members to promote solidarity, establish an equitable interest mechanism, and support disadvantaged social groups and countries. Emerging economies coming together under the umbrella of the G20 can also assume the role of balancing the actors aiming to create monopolies in the global economy to establish a pluralistic and fairer economic distribution. Besides, common policies should be defined on issues such as climate change and artificial intelligence, which have the potential to shape the global economy in the coming years. With their policies on these issues, the G20 countries will decide whether to contribute to the construction of a world in which a group of minorities maintains its privileges and the rest of the world struggles with crises; or to the construction of a system in which resources are fairly distributed and common welfare/development mechanisms are established.
Finally, I would like to point out that the ‘crisis of truth’ deepens the crisis of the international system. Today, humanity is under the tutelage of the technologies produced by its own hands. Many problems related to the field of communication such as privacy violations, data security, cyber threats, hybrid wars and digital fascism are integrated with the problems in global politics and economy. Unfortunately, humanity has failed to develop effective policies, strategies, responses and ethical codes against the challenges posed by digital technologies. On the contrary, many technological innovations that have expanded the possibilities for societies and individuals to interact have become weapons for the destructive activities of malevolent forces through disinformation, misinformation and mass manipulation. As we have witnessed in recent years, disinformation, which is used to conceal war crimes, massacres and genocides, has become the most widely used tool. The struggle for truth, like the struggle for justice, is a common issue for all humanity and requires global cooperation. Having adopted these basic principles, it is inevitable for the G20 to focus on communication and more specifically the fight against disinformation. Under conditions where the crisis of truth has become the new normal, it is not possible to establish a rational global economic system based on accurate information and transparency.