The first quarter of the 21st century continues to shape as a period in which we discuss and try to understand the "megatrends" that deeply affect our civilization and the daily lives of humanity, as well as the "mega threats" that bring forth the disruptions, new challenges and "new normal" that cause ups and downs in the global economic-political system.

In the next two years at least, we will leave behind a period where we extensively address various approaches, different perspectives, solution proposals and potential fractures regarding global agricultural and food security, global energy security, global trade and supply chain security, global climate security, sustainable peace and sustainable development.

Amid this global economic-political landscape, the fundamental reality for the world's leading 40 economies is that they have not been subjected to such a focused pursuit, perception and challenging process of "security and control" in the international arena from the mid-1980s to the 2020s.

As a result, the ongoing reforms in the fields of economy and politics, steps to elevate countries' economic and social living standards, and the compounded impact of two "black swans" (the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war) on top of the 2008 global financial crisis, have led the world's leading countries to a completely different agenda focused on "security and control."

'Completely alone'

Countries are currently focused on entirely different threats and challenges, ranging from the security of national borders to food and energy security. This is because the experiences of the past 3.5 years, particularly the events of 2020-2023, clearly demonstrated that leading countries are "completely alone" when threats and crises escalate.

Countries have therefore had to turn to policies and practices that are more focused on security and the need to exercise greater control over the economy, social life, employment, trade and finance. This situation has further complicated the complex relationships between the Atlantic and Asia-Pacific, as well as between the "Global North" and the "Global South."

The world's leading 40 economies are now questioning their economic and military dependencies with a new understanding that it is difficult to return to the past. Consequently, even longstanding alliance relationships are undergoing significant scrutiny because of the dimension of security and control.

The leading economies of the Global South remind us that they are making positive efforts toward cooperation with the leading economies of the Global North in many areas, while also emphasizing the need to understand their pursuit and efforts for "strategic autonomy."

Therefore, both the economic and trade-based collaborations of the G-20 countries and the continents need to be designed in a much more multifaceted and multilateral manner than before. Thus, the concept of multilateralism is not actually at risk. Rather, the redefinition of this concept in a way that considers the interests of both the Global North and the Global South and the reconstruction of the intercontinental economic-political cooperation network is necessary.

It is precisely at this point that the biggest risk faced by the leading economies of the Global North is how much constructive contribution they can make to the reconstruction of the international network by cleansing themselves from the mental and perceptual poisoning caused by the actors of "neoliberal fascism." We will continue to observe and discuss this process together.