'A Fairer World is Possible': Insights from the Brussels Forum organized by the Republic of Türkiye

Photo by Derya Soysal

In Brussels, on 26 February, a forum was organized on the following theme: A fairer world is possible, writes Derya Soysal.

Afterwards, a panel was held, open to the media. A large international audience, including many academics, journalists, representatives of civil society organizations and bureaucrats, as well as students and the Turkish community in Belgium, participated in this forum.

Before the Forum, a closed roundtable was organized in which several experts discussed the possibility of making the world fairer. Among the participants were the Turkish Ambassador to the EU, Faruk Kaymakci, the Consul General, Onur Sevim, Central Asia expert Derya SOYSAL, Diplomatic World Manager Alberto Turkstra, Communications Counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Brussels, Seyda Bilen, Hüseyin Alptekin from the National Defense University in Türkiye, international relations expert Nazlihan Kavukçu, and strategic analyst in international relations Geri Maurizio.

Several topics were discussed, such as multilateralism, double-standard policies at the European and international levels, the silence on Gaza, climate change, and the rise of new regional organizations (such as the Organization of Turkic States). The experts emphasized during the Forum that Türkiye is a strong advocate of multilateralism.

During the opening of the Forum, which was open to the public, the Turkish Ambassador to Belgium, Bekir Uysal, stated that in the current world order, "it is clear that no country can tackle the challenges of the modern era alone" and added: "Global problems such as epidemics, climate change, conflicts, terrorism, poverty, and other urgent issues can only be successfully overcome through cooperation and solidarity."

Ambassador Uysal also recalled President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement "The world is bigger than five," and that this policy should be a vector for building a fairer world. "The world is bigger than five" (in Turkish: Dünya beşten büyüktür) is a political doctrine conceived by Erdoğan. The "five" in the phrase refers to the five countries that are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The veto power of these five countries is the main objection of the doctrine. Indeed, with the rise of new regional powers such as Brazil, Egypt, Türkiye, etc., talking about the veto power no longer makes much sense.

During the opening of the program, Şeyda Bilen, Communications Counselor, stated that international organizations created with the promise of global stability have once again failed to deliver on their promises and emphasized that the world is changing at an unprecedented speed and that the organizations responsible for protecting peace and justice must keep up with this pace.

Next, it was the turn of Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, Türkiye 's Permanent Representative to the EU, to speak. He stated that the EU could become a global actor on the world stage with Türkiye's participation. Highlighting that the veto power at the UN is similar to the veto power in the EU, Kaymakcı noted that this situation creates problems in determining foreign security and defense policy.

Hüseyin Alptekin from the National Defense University drew attention to the importance of a fair distribution of economic resources and stated that policies imposed by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) often constitute interference in the internal affairs of countries and that these policies should be fair. Affirming that a fairer global system is possible through the democratization of the international arena, Mr. Alptekin emphasized that it is important to give a voice to all parties on the international stage, and that the arrows were pointed at the United Nations Security Council. He stated that the abolition of the veto power and giving a voice to different actors, especially those from the South, within the United Nations Security Council could be an effective means.

Retired Belgian Ambassador Raoul Delcorde, PhD in political science, stated: "The EU has failed to build a fairer system. Europe has failed to become a global actor and a strategic actor in international relations." He thus joined his colleagues' remarks on the weakness of European institutions.

Dr. Maurizio Geri, who won a prestigious Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship from the EU to research for three years on the EU-NATO cooperation against Russian and Chinese hybrid warfare, especially in energy technology, and who is also an Italian navy officer with the role of political advisor to Italian general staff, noted that to find multilateral solutions to common problems it is necessary to join efforts between the academic world, the political analysts and the practitioners decision makers.

He affirmed that the current period is an “interregnum” like during Roman times between the fall of an emperor and the rise of the next, but that this chaotic environment is not actually an abyss, and that this period can be used as a ladder that will allow us to climb out of the abyss. Dr Geri, agreed with the criticisms that the international system is unjust but took a realistic approach saying that International Relations theory 101 teaches that the international system is always anarchic and there is not a real possibility for a ‘world government’, so a more pragmatic and creative approach should be adopted.

A pragmatic and creative approach means finding a fairer world in international agreements based on specific issues like health and the fight against pandemics, humanitarian help and development aid, or the AI and new tech revolution. The researcher also emphasized: “Türkiye is right to advocate for multilateralism at a time like this.” Indeed, Türkiye with its mediating efforts ensures that multilateralism becomes the new vector of world politics. But adopting a pragmatic and creative approach means first of all using regional frameworks. He argued that instead of waiting for a global change in the short term, regional powers should coalesce their region and solve the problems of security and conflict resolution inside these architectures, like the EU.

Middle powers such as Türkiye for example could coalesce the rest of the Turkic states but also play an important role in the stabilization of its region, for example establishing regional conferences with the other powers of the Middle East, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to defend the rights and interests of small powers and minorities. The same can be done, and is actually already done, by countries like Brazil in South America, India in South Asia, and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.

Alberto Turkstra, manager at Diplomatic World, and the last speaker of the panel, stated that global governance is facing great complex challenges of the 21st century. The speaker recalled Antonio Gramsci's quote "The old world is dying, the new world struggles to be born" and stated that the demands for reform for a fair global system have become even more urgent.

Referring to the need to reform the United Nations Security Council, the speaker drew attention to the importance of the Veto Initiative adopted in 2022 to limit the use of the veto power.

Furthermore, the speaker stated that the Bretton Woods financial system presents a democratic deficit for the countries of the South and that a more inclusive reform of the international financial system is necessary.

In this context, the speaker highlighted the rise of BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and stated that it would be wrong to consider these groups solely as anti-Western and that their main objective is to reform the global governance system from within.

Finally, the speaker warned that if global structures are not reformed fairly, divisions in the world will worsen.

After the end of the program, visitors attended the screening of a documentary on the artistic life of painter Devrim Erbil.

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