The world's top 40 economies are increasingly discontent and concerned as the governance mechanism of the global economic-political system appears to have collapsed. This breakdown is attributed to unjust, unequal and indifferent attitudes toward universal values and moral norms, notably perpetrated by countries claiming to lead and manage the global order. Over the past 15 years, this arrogant and superior stance has significantly eroded the prestige of international organizations representing global governance and undermined trust in the global economic-political system.

Two black swans, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, coupled with the ongoing Gaza conflict, have exposed billions to the most shameful selfishness, the most unacceptable irresponsibility, and blindly obeyed unethical behavior in the name of humanity or civilization. Trust has been shattered, be it for agriculture food supply security, energy supply security or the fight against pandemics. In countries that claim to be civilized, we have witnessed people fighting each other even over toilet paper. Peace, security, development, prosperity, human rights, the environment, health, migration and terrorism, all of these issues are seemingly abandoned due to the structural and normative problems of the global governance system.

Challenging the status quo

The United Nations Security Council's veto mechanism, currently held by five countries and considered an outdated Cold War "fiction," is now a tool that is the subject of constant criticism, objection and calls for change in various global forums, notably in the G-20 and among Global South nations. The slogan "the world is bigger than five," initially articulated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the U.N. General Assembly in 2013, rejects the viability of the outdated "Cold War doctrine" in the global governance system. It underscores that trust in the global system remains elusive until emerging developing economies and the Global South attain the rightful position they deserve in the decision-making mechanism of the economic-political system.

At the recent G-20 foreign ministers’ summit, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, echoing President Erdoğan's recurrent motto "the world is bigger than five," asserted during the "Global Governance Reform" session that the Security Council's inaction on numerous issues, especially Gaza, casts a shadow over the credibility of all U.N. systems. President Erdoğan's vision of reform, outlined in his book "A Fairer World is Possible," originally titled "Daha Adil Bir Dünya Mümkün" in Turkish, emphasizes that with necessary reforms, the U.N. can effectively serve the interests of all member states, not just the powerful ones. It also advocates for a swift crisis response and argues for a fairer and accountable representation structure for countries.

Let's emphasize this point once more: The widespread discontent with the Cold War-era global governance system has now evolved into a global phenomenon. This development is fundamentally positive because only through collective dissatisfaction can we authentically address the crises arising from the need for restructuring the global governance system. In the words of Thomas Edison, "Discontent is the first necessity of progress."