“Globalization” is giving way to fragmentation, and a new geopolitical landscape is taking shape. Three widely discussed photographs in the media showcased the fundamental characteristics of this transformation.

By Ergin YILDIZOGLU

Join us on Telegram, Twitter, and VK.

Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su

“Globalization” is giving way to fragmentation, and a new geopolitical landscape is taking shape. Three widely discussed photographs in the media showcased the fundamental characteristics of this transformation.

As One Hegemony Declines… The U.S. hegemony is waning under the influence of shifting economic balances, the unraveling of “neoliberal globalization,” and the rise of new power centers. Changes in global trade, finance, and security architecture are ushering in a far more unstable international environment. The widespread customs tariffs implemented during Trump’s second term accelerated this decline. This protectionist tendency, rather than strengthening the U.S.’s international position, increased distrust among its allies worldwide and encouraged new collaborations. As a result, the global security balance and the architecture of alliances began to shift in a direction that increasingly isolated the U.S.

Three Photographs The first photograph was from a meeting between EU leaders and Trump in the Oval Office. Many commentators likened the EU leaders sitting across from Trump’s desk to “schoolchildren in front of a principal,” describing it as “humiliating.” However, it’s also possible to think that the EU leaders accepted this posture to restrain Trump and buy time. Indeed, this widely noticed photograph on social media pointed to a practice of pressure and humiliation, documenting how much the U.S.’s ability to lead and serve as a model—thus its hegemony—had weakened.

The second photograph was from a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in China, where Indian Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi shook hands for the first time in seven years, with Russian President Putin watching with a smile. The Trump administration’s economic and diplomatic pressures to distance India from Russia and China had backfired spectacularly.

The third photograph was from a military ceremony in China, showcasing the scale and modernity of China’s military capabilities. Among those watching the parade were Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and leaders from countries like Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Belarus, Myanmar, Serbia, Slovakia, Cuba, Zimbabwe, and the Republic of Congo.

…A New Center of Gravity Emerges While one photograph documented the tension between the U.S. and the EU, the second showed China’s rise as a new economic and diplomatic center of gravity. In recent years, India and China, previously engaged in cautious rivalry, along with an increasing number of “Global South” states, are moving toward deeper cooperation to shield themselves from uncertainties in U.S. foreign policy and to diversify their energy, raw material, and financial resources. This trend signals the development of parallel trade, finance, and security networks designed to reduce dependence on the U.S.-centered global system.

For many countries, China’s role in the global system extends beyond being merely an economic partner. Through the “Belt and Road Initiative,” China has become a global player in infrastructure financing, building its own financial system and creating new supply chains in strategic sectors like technology and energy, offering alternatives to the Western-centered system. This provides developing countries, in particular, with opportunities to enhance their strategic autonomy within the Western-centered system.

These three photographs also help us reflect on another feature of the new geopolitics. China aims to be the spokesperson, leader, and even economic and military protector of the “Global South.” However, it can be said that the “Global South” countries, as a strategic calculation, prefer the presence of three major powers over being caught between two. For the “Global South,” Russia’s continued existence as a “third major power”—too weak to be a hegemonic center like the U.S. or China—potentially provides a more suitable maneuvering space for enhancing their strategic autonomy. For this reason, most of these countries do not participate in Western sanctions targeting Russia.

The new geopolitics is far more complex, fluid, and fraught with dangerous uncertainties than the old one.

Original article:  www.cumhuriyet.com.tr