Preventing Neo-Medievalism: Institutional Governance for Global Stability

TASAM ISTANBUL SECURITY CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS AND FULL MANUSCRIPT FOR CONFERENCE BOOK

‘How to prevent back-sliding to neo-Medievalism?’; Role of institutional governance for uninterrupted trade and sustained international cooperation.

Abstract.
The Covid-19 Pandemic, was reminiscent of something humanity had not faced perhaps since the SARS or Spanish Flue; plagues and epidemics. Discussions and fears of a neo-medievalism era has been of much discussion due to the failure in central governments addressing the pandemic. Not only because of the pandemic, but the concentration of global wealth to the hands of a few billionaires, as well as the logistical interruption of major chokepoints have significantly disturbed global trade. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gazza have also been reminiscent of some of medieval cruelties. Global trade has been over the last decade shifting more towards on-land and region based trajectories. On-land trajectories such as the historical Silk-Road, did not necessarily create an interdependent relationship over the vast distances. Hence were not boosters of peace and prosperity during the Middle Ages.

The Silk Road, through its networks of merchants, relays of caravan seraglios, helped regions such as in Central Asia (UNESCO, 2024) prosper for millennia. Central Asia’s golden age was perhaps the Timurid Renaissance, yet the extent remained regional. Hence, several initiatives to promote the global supply chain need to also be robust enough to continue institutional cooperation based on values such as universal human rights and principles of justice. In this manuscript, the importance of institutional governance for both uninterrupted trade and sustaining peaceful cooperation are analyzed from the perspective of interdependence and peace. A closer look will be on the Organization of Turkic States.

Key Words: Global Governance, International Relations, Neo-Medievalism, Globalization, Organization of Turkic States


ÖZ:
Covid-19 Pandemisi, insanlığın belki de SARS veya İspanyol Gribi'nden beri karşılaşmadığı bir şeyi hatırlatıyordu; salgınlar ve salgın hastalıklar. Bazı hükümetlerin pandemiye yönelik başarısızlığı nedeniyle neo-ortaçağ tartışmaları ve korkuları çokça tartışıldı. Sadece pandemi nedeniyle değil, küresel servetin birkaç milyarderin elinde toplanması ve büyük darboğazların lojistik kesintiye uğraması küresel ticareti önemli ölçüde bozdu. Ukrayna ve Gazze'deki çatışmalar da bazı ortaçağ zulümlerini hatırlattı. Küresel ticaret son on yılda daha çok kara ve bölge tabanlı yörüngelere doğru kaydı. Tarihi İpek Yolu gibi kara yörüngeleri, uçsuz bucaksız mesafelerde mutlaka birbirine bağımlı bir ilişki yaratmadı. Bu nedenle Orta Çağ boyunca barış ve refahın destekçileri değildi.

İpek Yolu, tüccar ağları ve kervan saraylarının röleleri aracılığıyla Orta Asya'daki (UNESCO, 2024) bölgelerin binlerce yıl boyunca refah içinde yaşamasına yardımcı oldu. Orta Asya'nın altın çağı belki de Timur Rönesansıydı, ancak etkisi bölgesel kaldı. Bu nedenle, küresel tedarik zincirini teşvik etmeye yönelik çeşitli girişimlerin, evrensel insan hakları ve adalet ilkeleri gibi değerlere dayalı kurumsal iş birliğini sürdürebilecek kadar sağlam olması gerekiyor. Bu yazıda, kesintisiz ticaret ve barışçıl iş birliğini sürdürmek için kurumsal yönetişimin önemi, karşılıklı bağımlılık ve barış perspektifinden analiz edilmektedir. Türk Devletleri Teşkilatına da bu kapsamda bakılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Küresel Yönetişim, Uluslararası İlişkiler, Neo-Orta Çağcılık, Küreselleşme, Türk Devletleri Teşkilatı


As the year 2025 approaches, while the second Trump presidency begins in the US, ongoing international crises, wars and instabilities, especially in the Middle East, signal that international governance is gradually weakening. In addition to the ineffectiveness of the international community and institutions in the face of crises and instabilities, institutions in many countries are also losing their effectiveness. The central authority gap is filled by dangerous non-state actors, militia forces, armed groups and terrorist organizations. On the other hand, international governance formed by states is necessary for international trade and global supply chains.

International governance, unlike an international government, is the formation of cooperation for established norms and practices on certain issues. For example, international law, universal human rights principles, the climate crisis, migration, epidemics, maritime trade and civil aviation are the rules. Although these rules are not always successful as desired, they are accepted as international social norms. A system with nation-states is necessary for effective governance.
On the other hand, we are witnessing processes in which international governance is gradually weakening. This brings to mind the report titled U.S.-China Rivalry in a Neomedieval World, prepared by Heath, Kong and Dale-Huang and published by the US-based think tank Rand Corporation on June 6, 2023.

The Covid-19 Pandemic, was reminiscent of something humanity had not faced perhaps since the SARS or Spanish Flue; plagues and epidemics. Plagues and the bubonic plague are reminiscent of the middle ages. Discussions and fears of a neo-medievalism era has been of much discussion due to the failure in central governments addressing the pandemic.

Concentration of wealth and income inequality has been another reason for increasing discussion of Neomedievalism. Interruption of major chokepoints, significantly disturbed global trade, has also caused concerns of back-sliding into the pre-globalization land-based era; possibly a form of Neomedievalism. Global trade has been over the last decade shifting more towards on-land and region based trajectories. On-land trajectories such as the historical Silk-Road, did not necessarily create an interdependent relationship over the vast distances. Hence were not boosters of peace and prosperity during the Middle Ages.