ISTANBUL / DOHA / ANKARA

Burhanettin Duran, head of Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, said Saturday that wars are no longer confined to physical battlefields but are increasingly waged through narratives, digital platforms, and perception management.

Speaking at the opening of the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, Duran emphasized the central theme of the event, “The Palestinian Cause and the Regional Balance of Power in the Context of an Emerging Multipolar World,” as a framework that urges participants to confront not only the destructive realities of Israel’s war on Gaza but also the deeper transformation of the international system.

“For over 20 years, we have been told the world is in transition,” he said. “Today, that narrative is no longer sufficient. The world is not just transitioning. It has already transitioned.”

Duran noted that the assumptions shaping the post-war international system have fractured, norms defining acceptable behavior have weakened, and genocide has reentered the center of global politics not as an exception but as a tolerated reality.

He highlighted the repeated and structural failures of institutions designed to prevent such tragedies, emphasizing that the current system is defined by fragmentation, competition, and institutional fatigue.

“Great power rivalry increasingly dominates global agendas. In this environment, uncertainty is now a structural reality,” he said.

Duran stressed that what distinguishes this era is the complete integration of information warfare into the logic of conflict.

“Wars are no longer confined to physical battlefields,” he said. “They are fought through narratives, digital platforms, and perception management.”

Pointing to the rise of non-state actors like tech firms, platform owners, and algorithm designers, Duran warned of a new form of domination shaped by algorithmic control, which determines “what is visible, what is credible, and what disappears.”

He posed a critical question: “What principle can generate order when hierarchy breaks down, institutions weaken, and power fragments?”

His answer: “Justice.” Not merely as a moral aspiration, he said, but as a foundational principle of political order.

“Justice produces legitimacy. Where justice exists, order is internalized rather than imposed,” he said. “Justice cannot exist without truth. And truth cannot survive without conditions that protect it.”

Center of gravity

Duran said the region possesses a civilizational legacy that binds truth and justice together. “From al-Farabi to Ibn Khaldun, our intellectual tradition teaches us that civilizations endure through legitimacy, cohesion, and moral purpose,” he added.

He said the Middle East faces overlapping crises and the center of gravity is shifting. Influence is no longer solely measured in military terms but by economic capacity, diplomatic networks, and reconstruction leverage.

“Boundaries between security and humanitarian domains have collapsed,” he said, adding that regional actors have unprecedented capacities but struggle with coordination.

“Without collective action, individual power cannot generate durable stability,” he stressed.

He emphasized that wars are not ended with ceasefires alone but through governance, reconstruction, and political frameworks.

He outlined Türkiye’s vision based on regional ownership, which prioritizes local agency, enables regional diplomacy, and strengthens collective capacity.

“Regional problems demand regional solutions,” he stated.

He warned that if regional actors fail to manage their own conflicts, they become “fuel for global anarchy,” while arguing that the region is now positioned to either mitigate or deepen the global crisis.

Duran described an unprecedented wave of insecurity driven by military conflict, humanitarian disasters, economic pressures, information warfare, and polarization.

“In Gaza, this insecurity is seen in its starkest form: mass devastation, deep trauma, and humanitarian collapse,” he said.

He called on regional and Gulf actors to unite around three priorities, which are ending the war, preventing displacement, and linking reconstruction to political viability, protection, and lasting stability.

Turkish steps toward global peace, regional security

Duran said Türkiye has taken concrete steps to support global peace and invited regional countries to share this responsibility, emphasizing that “stability can only be achieved through inclusive cooperation, mutual trust, and collective wisdom.”

He cited examples including the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Grain Corridor between Russia and Ukraine, and Türkiye’s facilitation role in the Iran crisis.

Calling for a new regional security architecture, he said it should also build shared capacity against external threats.

“We are contributing to the establishment of diverse cooperation mechanisms to address new risks,” he added.

“Ultimately, through all these efforts, we aim to build an information, knowledge, and diplomacy ecosystem of our own,” Duran said.

“We want it to reflect our region’s realities, foster collective wisdom, and contribute to a more balanced global order,” he highlighted.

He stressed that the region must reclaim authorship of its own narrative.

“Narrative is power. Whoever defines meaning shapes order,” he said. “Our region must reclaim authorship of its own story -- not to mythologize itself, but to express its civilizational mission with clarity and confidence.”

Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for “a fairer world,” Duran said this is not just a declaration of hope but a strategic vision.

“The world has already changed. Our responsibility is to ensure it changes in the right direction,” he said.

“This requires cross-border cooperation, resistance to algorithmic domination, defense of truth, restoration of justice, and the courage to imagine a new global order based on dignity and legitimacy.”

He concluded: “This is how truth becomes justice. This is how justice becomes order. And this is how a region once spoken about becomes a region that speaks for itself.”