Center for Strategic Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (SAM). (2020). Post-COVID-19 Global System: Old Problems, New Trends
Serdar Yurtçİçek* PhD Student International Politics, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, China)
UFUK ULUTAŞ, THE PRESIDENT OF THE er, one could still grasp a general idea about the
Center for Strategic Research, is the editor and Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official position by
one of the contributors to “Post-COVID-19 Glob- merely reading the book, given that Minister of
al System: Old Problems New Trends”, a book pre- Foreign Affairs penned the foreword himself and
pared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the a majority of the members of the Editorial Board
Center for Strategic Research. The book’s editorial and contributors work for the Ministry.
board includes Yavuz Selim Kıran, Deputy Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs; Ufuk Ulutaş, Sibel Erkan The International System
and Mehmet Zeki Günay from the Center for After COVID-19
Strategic Research affiliated with the Ministry of This book discusses the impact of COVID-19
Foreign Affairs as well as Mesut Özcan from the on the neoliberal international system, which
Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign consolidated its position with the disintegration
Affairs and Talha Köse from Ibn Haldun Univer- of the Soviet Union. Also discussed in the book
sity. It is indicated that the views and opinions are foresights about global political trends and
expressed in the book are not reflective of the po- potential sources of conflict in the post-COVID
sition of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Howev- era. As such, it attempts to answer an important
* Serdar Yurtçiçek was born in 1985 in Diyarbakır. He graduated from Tourism and Hospitality Management at Balıkesir University and
then Department of Business at Dokuz Eylül University, and also Department of International Relations at Anadolu University. He holds his MA degree in Department of Business at Beykent University in 2013-2015, and also International Issues and Global Governance at Zhejiang University in 2016-2020. He worked in companies such as Nokia, Samsung Electronic-Turkey. Besides, he served as an Deputy Director General in Aydınlık Daily in 2014-2016. E-mail: serdaryurtcicek@gmail.com
question: what will be the impact of COVID-19 even though the USA lacks a global vision and
on globalization and global competition? In do- the necessary leadership skills to help other
ing so, it attempts to understand the possible countries suffering from the pandemic. In this
transformation of the relationship between glo- context, M. Şükrü Hanioğlu (author of chapter
balization, the international system and nation- 3) argues that the USA should launch a new
al governments. Moreover, the book presents Marshall program, as was done after World War
foresights about the future of digital diplomacy, II. Quoting Henry Kissinger, he asserts that the
medical intelligence, economy, immigration, con- USA can revive the Western Civilization by
flict resolution, the Middle East and international dropping its “USA First” discourse. This move
organizations, which are presented as issues of can even be embraced by Russia and China, importance for global players such as Turkey. since their growth depends on foreign trade. The majority of the contributors agree on Otherwise, the authors are concerned about one crucial point: the COVID-19 is likely to cause China propagating its success by also giving a a world-wide paradigm shift, as was experienced hand to the European Union (EU) and Africa. after the 9/11 Attacks and 2008/2009 Global Fi-
nancial Crisis. Many contributors raise the ques- In Chapter 4, this concern goes hand in hand
tion of who will lead the international system in with the general conviction that Turkey should
the post-COVID-19 era. The predominant belief be part of a “modern and civilized” West rather
is that China is not fit to build its own system. In than the Asian Civilization.
Chapter 2 and Chapter 19, drawing on Western Chapter 22 remarks that supranational or-
sources representative of the Atlantic media and ganizations such as the EU cannot become a
scholarship, most of the authors concur that Chi- powerful global player, since European coun-
na has tried to hide the outbreak of COVID-19 tries will have to isolate themselves while dealing
from the very beginning, delayed making a state- with their domestic affairs after the pandemic.
ment of early warning and shared unreliable data. Meanwhile, both the USA and the EU are likely
Another point of agreement is that China will to focus more on domestic production with the
have to limit the scope of the Belt and Road Ini- aim of minimizing their dependency on the Chi-
tiative and is likely to re-orient its focus more on nese economy in the post-COVID 19 era.
itself and its surrounding region, considering that the global economy is projected to contract due Is Globalization Over? to COVID-19. Interestingly enough, the book ad-
mits that China has been successful in stopping The contributors agree that the fight against
the pandemic within its borders thanks to the COVID-19 constitutes a global battle. In Chap-
presence of a strong state mechanism. This being ter 2, it is argued that independent and uncoor-
said, the strength of this mechanism is viewed dinated efforts are at best insufficient and cost-
as an important factor that will impede China’s ly. Moreover, Altay Atlı notes that in the past,
acceptance as a legitimate global leader due to some governments had used globalization for
its so-called “authoritarian” character. Chapter 1 maximizing their individual gains, but that the
adds that Germany, South Korea and Japan have very same governments have failed to effective-
also been successful thanks to the strong organi- ly cooperate in the fight against global terror-
zational capacity of their governments. ism. He cautions that the same situation goes
for the fight against COVID-19.
Where Will Be Turkey? According to Altay Atlı (Chapter 9) and
The book suggests that the US status as a global Birol Akgün (Chapter 14) COVID-19 has not
hegemon will not change in the medium term, marked the end of globalization. Yet, globaliza-
tion is likely to take a new shape after the pan- Mustafa Kibaroğlu (Chapter 8) asserts that
demic. The United Nations (UN), the World Turkey’s medical aid to other countries will in-
Health Organization (WHO) and other relevant crease its global prestige in the post-COVID-19
international institutions who are labeled as the era. Meanwhile, Turkey should not consider
representatives of globalization have proved withdrawing from NATO. On the contrary, it
to be too weak and fragile. Their existence and must remain a member of the Western civili-
functioning heavily depend on funding by lead- zation, while cautiously improving its cooper-
ing nation-states. ation with the East by focusing on self-suffi-
ciency in the areas of economic production and
Nation States Will Be Stronger national defense. Birol Akgün adds that Turkey
Chapter 5 and Chapter 11 underline that COV- will be able to play a constructive role in the
ID-19 has revealed the need for empowering post-COVID-19 international system, if it can
nation-states, reviving a state-led economy and effectively pursue a policy of balancing between
enhancing border protection. It is expected that the East and the West.
nation states will further encourage domestic In the final analysis, the resurgence of na-
production for greater economic security, par- tion-states and statism is highly likely in the
ticularly in the areas of agriculture and the med- post-COVID-19 era. Economic production,
ical industry. Similarly, the book also observes health and national security present themselves
that countries have recognized the importance as areas of high priority in this context. Howev-
of bio-medical power, –of similar importance er, the book’s overall negative approach to China
to nuclear power– after the pandemic. In the clearly reflects the fact that the influence of West-
meantime, Chapter 18 remarks that terrorist ern, or Atlanticist perspectives on the official
organizations are possibly aware of the growing mindset in Turkey is still of a significant impor-
relevance of bio-medical power, which requires tance. Such a mindset would result in the failure
governments to develop more efficient health of Turkish policy makers to fully acknowledge
systems, focus on biological studies and improve how COVID-19 has revealed the collapse of
medical intelligence. Western neoliberalism and the center of gravity
Talha Köse (Chapter 21) cautions that even of the global economy has already shifted to Asia
though COVID-19 has led to a period of relative (Gürcan 2019, 2019/2020; Gürcan & Kahraman,
peace, this situation is only temporary. Mesut 2020). Overall, the book expresses a naïve belief
Özcan (Chapter 23) and Nurşin Ateşoğlu-Güney that the USA will retain its hegemonic status af-
(Chapter 22) underline that the USA will not ter COVID-19, which can potentially hamper
completely withdraw from the Middle East and any attempts at formulating realistic policies that
key US rivals such as Russia and Iran will mainly can serve Turkey’s national interests.
preserve their regional influence despite several
adversities associated with COVID-19. References
Gürcan, E. C. & Kahraman, Ö. E. (2020). COVID-19
US-China Competition and Turkey in historical perspective: How Disaster capitalism
fabricates a fear-managed world order? Belt & Road
Chapter 11, 14 and 24 foresee that the Si- Initiative Quarterly, 1(3), 49-62.
no-American conflict is likely to escalate in the Gürcan, E. C. (2019/2020). Building a fair world
post-COVID-19 era and Turkey will be better order in a post-american age. Belt & Road Initiative
Quarterly, 1(1), 6-16. off if it can avoid taking sides. The best option Gürcan, E. C. (2019). Multipolarization, south-
for Turkey is to maximize its interests by pursu- south cooperation and the rise of post-hegemonic
ing a policy of balancing. governance. New York: Routledge.
