Turkey's foreign minister calls for middle power cooperation to reform international system

Turkey aims to lead reforms in a fracturing international system, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calling for increased cooperation among middle powers. Speaking at a forum at Korea University in Seoul, Fidan declared that the current global governance structure, built over the past 80 years, is showing cracks. He believes this void presents an opportunity for capable nations to step forward and reshape the international order.

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The international system has been fundamentally changing.

Fidan pointed to the ongoing conflicts, including the war in Gaza, as stark evidence of the international system's crisis and its inability to maintain sustainable cooperation. He specifically referred to the Gaza conflict as a "genocide of Palestinians" that has exposed the system's flaws and legitimacy crisis. The minister advocated for a shift towards a multilateral system where regional middle powers, like Turkey, take the lead in managing security and fostering stability from within.

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The international system built over the past 80 years is fracturing, and it is time for capable nations to step in and fill this void.

During a Q&A session, Fidan criticized the current United Nations Security Council, dominated by five permanent members, for not reflecting contemporary global power distribution. He stressed that regional actors should take "regional ownership" to build peace and stability, moving away from interventions by hegemonic powers. He noted that the Middle East has repeatedly failed to resolve its issues through external intervention.

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The current international system's crisis is most clearly demonstrated by the Gaza war, which can be called a genocide of Palestinians.

Fidan also drew parallels between the current global challenges and the Korean War, where Turkey and South Korea stood together. He expressed Turkey's commitment to closely cooperating with South Korea to defend and reform the international system. His visit to Seoul is part of an Asian tour, following stops in Singapore and Indonesia, and precedes the NATO summit in Ankara, where Turkey is seeking to invite Indo-Pacific partners.

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No single actor, however large or resource-rich, can handle global challenges alone anymore. Cooperation among key middle powers in each region must be central.