Road to Antalya and Istanbul

Although the world has undergone several transformative periods in known history, a remarkable feature of the current times is the number of participants directly involved in shaping a new global agenda. Today several actors outside established formal and informal pillars of the current international order, such as the United Nations (UN) Security Council and G-7 or even the European Union (EU), exert significant influence—and even take up leadership—on global issues. These countries are unrepresented in terms of formal seats—or even top international staff positions—at major international organisations. So the consensus they shape on global economic and security challenges can be taken forward only through global efforts. A case in point is Turkey’s G-20 presidency, which came after Istanbul hosted the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2011—and ahead of the Istanbul World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.

The G-20 summits feature countries who represent some 85% of the global gross national product (GNP) and 80% of global trade is a debutant in the panoply of nascent and senescent international organisations. Amongst the 19 countries and theEU that make up the G-20 are states which are known to have led the evolution of international system, but the group also comprises emerging powers who have so far been kept away from driver seats. Mexico and Korea have hosted G-20 summits. After Turkey, China and India would surely lead the G-20 in coming years. These emerging powers are now finding a strong global voice through the G-20.