The Western Order Has Failed, Türkiye Can Lead the New Order |
For some time, the same sentence has been repeated in different languages and accents around the world: “The international order is collapsing.” What has been called a “rules-based order” was actually a system that gave special advantages to selected countries. Yesterday, only a few people spoke this loudly. Today, the stage is crowded: more and more leaders from Latin America to Asia, Africa, and even within Europe are saying that the system the West called “universal” produces double standards.
There is a reason for this increase: the system promised “security” and “prosperity.” In recent years, however, it has produced more war, sanctions, supply crises, energy shocks, migration, debt traps, and, most importantly, legitimacy loss through Gaza. Criticism has moved from an ideological debate to a “performance review” of the system.
Moreover, the language of criticism is no longer just from the “Global South.” Even countries within the Western alliance now openly talk about how the “order” is a story that disappears at critical moments. Even the Davos stage cannot hide this.
Erdoğan: “Western values are dying in Gaza” and “The World is bigger than Five”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long criticized the UN Security Council by saying, “The world is bigger than five.” In the past 1–2 years, his rhetoric became stronger: criticism is no longer just about institutional structure but also targets Western norms. Erdoğan said the UN system and Western values collapsed in Gaza and emphasized that “humanity’s hope for a fairer world has died.”
The strategic move here is clear: Ankara bases the “order debate” on real crises instead of abstract principles. This is rhetorically powerful because people watch the “scene,” not the “text.” On stage, the West speaks of law, but in reality, there is no justice.
Canada: Warning of “breakdown” at Davos
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney became one of the most striking Western leaders at Davos 2026: he said the “rules-based international order” is not transitioning but in a state of “breakdown,” and the old order will not return. More importantly, he openly admitted that the story of this order was “false”: “The strong exempt themselves when convenient.”
This shows that criticism of the order is no longer just coming from Ankara. Even Ottawa, on a global stage like Davos, signals the unsustainability of the US-centered system.
South Africa: “International law cannot be selective”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made the issue clear at the 79th UN General Assembly: “International law cannot be applied selectively. No state is more equal than another.” This is the sharpest backbone of the Western order critique: if the rules are not equal for all, the “rules-based order”........