Doha: Burhanettin Duran, head of Trkiye’s Communications Directorate, emphasized the critical role of narrative power in modern conflicts, asserting that wars are increasingly fought through narratives, digital platforms, and perception management. Speaking at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, Duran addressed the forum’s central theme, ‘The Palestinian Cause and the Regional Balance of Power in the Context of an Emerging Multipolar World,’ as a framework for examining the transformation of the international system beyond Israel’s war on Gaza.
According to Anadolu Agency, Duran highlighted a significant shift in global dynamics, stating that the world has moved beyond mere transition. He noted the fracturing of post-war international system assumptions and the weakening of norms that define acceptable behavior, with genocide becoming a tolerated reality. Duran criticized the failures of institutions meant to prevent such tragedies and described the current global environment as one characterized by fragmentation, competition, and institutional fatigue.
Duran further elaborated on the integration of information warfare into modern conflicts. He warned of the influence of non-state actors like tech firms and platform owners, which exert control through algorithms that determine visibility, credibility, and obscurity. He posed a critical question on the principles that can generate order amid broken hierarchies and weakened institutions, answering with ‘Justice’ as not only a moral aspiration but a foundational principle of political order.
He emphasized the region’s civilizational legacy, binding truth and justice, and stressed that influence is now measured by economic capacity and diplomatic networks rather than military might. Duran called for regional actors to unite for collective action, stating that individual power alone cannot generate durable stability.
Duran outlined Trkiye’s vision for regional ownership, prioritizing local agency and regional diplomacy to address regional problems with regional solutions. He warned of the consequences if regional actors fail to manage conflicts, risking global anarchy. Highlighting the severe insecurity in Gaza, he urged regional actors to focus on ending the war, preventing displacement, and linking reconstruction to political viability.
He showcased Trkiye’s efforts toward global peace, citing normalization processes and facilitation roles in various regional conflicts. Duran called for a new regional security architecture to build shared capacity against external threats, emphasizing the need for a collective wisdom-driven information and diplomacy ecosystem.
Duran concluded by stressing the importance of the region reclaiming authorship of its narrative to express its civilizational mission. Referencing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vision for ‘a fairer world,’ he underscored the need for cross-border cooperation, resistance to algorithmic domination, and the defense of truth and justice to imagine a new global order based on dignity and legitimacy.