In search of a new world order: Part I

In search of a new world order: Part I
Comment: For Turkey and the region, the modern era will be defined by proxy conflicts and economic and political polarisation, writes Numan Kurtulmus.
7 min read
06 Nov, 2018
'Turkey will be impacted geopolitically by the trade wars' writes Kurtulmus
It is important to understand the times in which live from the economic, political and administrative perspectives. To do this, the whole picture needs to be seen. 

Based on this picture, we Turks are forced to think about what we can do, because the world today is not only going through political and economic struggles.

The tensions and upheavals are seen not just in a single region of the world, since the entire world, both developed and developed parts, are going through destructive tremors shaking up entities, with crises emerging in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and even European countries.

We are now at a time in which a new order in the world is being built from the economic perspective, as well as politically, and even for social structures.

It is very important to understand the course of events one at a time, but wise and knowledgeable people have a great responsibility to "see the big picture" as well as each piece of the jigsaw.

For the sake of the future of our children, our country, and the region, we must determine the right direction.

During the period between World Wars I and II, the world was controlled from Europe, and was a time of major tension. Even without any wars, the smoke was still rising from the destruction of war.

After 1990, the new world order unfortunately lost all of its magic

At this crucial moment, the European continent witnessed the birth of two tough ideologies, fascism and communism, which resulted in the rise of extremism in every European country.

Hard-line movements such as German and French nationalism, took over, and these rigid ideologies led to taking control of the world order, and the formation of vital hubs for those managing global economic policies.

But World War III started a long time ago. Unlike World War II, its beginnings will be economic, and then evolve into a political confrontation.

Read more: Syria: The ground zero of a new world order

Without a doubt, the underlying cause of this is the war which continues to smolder even if it is no longer on fire, only to burst into flames once more, as with World War II which led to widespread destruction and millions of deaths, and which also brought about a new central power victorious in the war – the United States.

Forty-five years after World War II, in 1990, it was the age of the Cold War. While there had not been a direct war, polarisation had taken hold in conflicts the world over.

Turkey was among the countries which saw their share of these conflicts. Unfortunately, we are among those who paid a steep price for this war. In the period before 1980, due to the conflict between the right and the left, around 5,000 of our countrymen were killed and buried in their youth.

With the end of the Cold War in 1990, there were attempts to create a new world order.

The Soviet Union broke up and the Eastern Bloc came to an end. Unfortunately, the world became unipolar, and America tried to impose a new order under its control, making the world pay a heavy price.

Between 1990 and 2018, the world witnessed new tensions, conflicts and polarisation. In this framework, unfortunately the search for world peace after the 1990s has been shelved, to use an expression of the era.

Currently, in the global order we see an era in which all institutions and organisations are ineffective. After 1990, the new world order unfortunately lost all of its magic, and the international institutions were unable to perform their function. From the United Nations to the World Bank, each one was looking for new options.

The tensions and conflicts in the world in this new phase have shown new types of conflict under neo-imperialism, including proxy wars. At the beginning of the Syria crisis, the proxy wars taking place were noticeable. Sadly, the heavy cost of these wars would not become apparent until after it had been paid.

What does 'proxy wars' mean, today? The top powers and countries decided to not plunge directly into sticky situations instead decided to wage Middle East wars through effective, evil powers in order to better enhance their capabilities.

How the formation of Islamic State, which took root only a few months after it was created in the Middle East, be explained?

Tens of thousands of people who didn't know each other came from all around the world. How did they work with such high professionalism to create a terrorist organisation able to take control of Iraqi and Syrian cities in just a few weeks?

Currently, in the global order we see an era in which all institutions and organisations are ineffective

They surfaced, and spread rapidly, apparently from nothing. Their goal was crystal clear: To create an organization that would change the borders of Iraq and Syria and re-organise the ethnic makeup within.

Among the topics which are also difficult to explain is our Kurdish brothers in Syria, who don't even have basic citizenship rights, and who have lived without being citizens under the repression of the regime for many years.

Today they command some of the heaviest weaponry in the world under the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in the region. These forces are tools in a proxy war, tools for evil created and being controlled as proxies, and are being injected into the region's geography.

If we look at this issue without asking these questions, then we will struggle to answer questions like, 'What happened in Raqqa?' or 'What happened in Manbij?' We will get lost in the details trying to reach the answer.

With the goal of planting rancour, hatred and tears among the peoples of the Middle East, extremist groups were used as proxies of the great powers and tools of evil. The goal of implementing this plan was to almost completely change the borders of the Middle East.

In today's world, in which the magic spell has been broken, a new phrase has appeared: 'trade wars', which have escalated into economic wars.

The International Monetary Fund is an institution for political recipes, not economic recipes, because the groups controlling the world established this institution to continue dominating it.

In all of these circumstances, it can be said already that World War III started a long time ago.

Unlike World War II, it will haved started out economically and then evolve into a political confrontation, as can be seen. On one side there is China, on another the United States, and Russia, India, Japan and the EU.

We must struggle to establish an effective order in the world based on truth and justice

At a lower level, there is also the emergence of economic wars which take their place in the new era which we are entering. Sadly, this era will have an impact on Turkey, and that can already be seen.

How can we understand this? The attacks on the currency's value began immediately after Turkey changed its system of government in the June 24, 2018 elections.

Those behind the economic attack targeting the value of Turkey's currency want to make the country realise its limits. This is a warning to other countries to clarify which row they stand in, and we are forced to understand this as a threat.

Some decision makers in the US want to send a message through the operation carried out against Turkey, by saying "Determine your course… are you with me, or not?"

For this reason, in the next stage, we must not forget that Turkey will be impacted geopolitically by these trade wars. Consequently, our policies need to be formed according to this future. In this new stage after economic polarisation, there appears a new phase of political polarisation, seeing tension and conflict manifest in physical wars.

In this world which has lost its magic, we must seek not to increase tensions and conflicts, but rather to struggle to establish an effective order in the world based on truth and justice. 


Read Part II of this article here.

Numan Kurtulmus is the former prime minister of Turkey, and the former minister of culture and tourism.


Follow him on Twitter: @NumanKurtulmus

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.