International Relations

In this time of triple crises, with intersecting impacts from the pandemic, the climate emergency, and persistent economic inequality, the global community and its leaders face a “Kairos moment” – a turning point at a critical time for action. The choice is whether to continue with failed policies that have brought the world to this perilous juncture or to retool global economies and systems. Imaginative and transformative approaches could address climate change and other environmental, health, and social threats, based on equity and justice, including gender-equitable access to sustainable finance.

Given the global dimension of the Covid-19 pandemic and the fact that the number of mutations is increasing worldwide, we must overcome our selfish national and economic interests. Successful pandemic response requires coordinated global action based on coordinated decision-making, fair and transparent vaccine delivery processes and know-how sharing.

In the age of Tinder, a so-called friend with benefits is defined not so much by the friendship between the partners, but by the fact that they get all the benefits of a romantic relationship without having to be in one. But the relationship between Ankara and Washington, which has cooled off considerably in recent years, has evolved into a partnership in which both sides regularly and openly express doubt as to whether it even is a partnership and whether there are any benefits to it at all.

Turkey and multilateral institutions alike, including the European Union, were already struggling with political and economic crises in the years before the pandemic multiplied the sense of catastrophe. As they seek to pull themselves out of the depths of Covid-19, it is time to set aside the divisions that have long stalled progress for all of them, and seek recovery in cooperation and mutual benefit.

The need for cross-border data sharing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that the future of multilateral threat management will hinge on steady yet flexible open-data publishing norms and multilateral data-transfer agreements. In many ways, India typifies the perspectives and needs of emerging economies related to data sharing, data flows, and related commercial regulation.