Considering the devastating effects of new-generation weapons, global powers cannot launch direct wars against each other. Therefore, they prefer to engage in indirect battles, as the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, did during the Cold War. Their proxies fight each other; they control the tide of the war from behind closed doors by procuring military equipment and by providing economic and financial assistance to wage war.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid an important visit to China and met Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in the shadow of the fierce protests in the streets against the government and its controversial pension reform.

Although the Western-American global hegemony is obsolete, no non-Western state wants to claim the global hegemony, mainly due to the burden and responsibility that comes with this claim.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will run against each other in the 2023 presidential race in Türkiye. It will all boil down to one of the two leading candidates winning over undecided voters. That’s why I believe the final weeks to be extremely important and the race to be head-to-head.

China brokered a historical agreement on March 10 that aims to restore the conflictual relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The trilateral joint statement was signed by Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Saudi National Security Advisor Musaid bin Muhammed Al Aiban, and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi, director of the Foreign Affairs Commission Office. Considering its influence in the region and international politics, this mediation effort and agreement is a diplomatic victory for China.

We are confident that this issue of Insight Turkey entitled “Türkiye at the Crossroads: The 2023 Election” will addresses some of the issues that have been dominating the political agenda lately in Türkiye and we hope and believe that the insightful and stimulating debates raised on the issue will be helpful to our readers.

Until very recently, China had mainly maintained a neutral stance toward political developments in other countries. However, this approach has shifted as Beijing has begun to manifest its hard power and exert more influence in regional and international politics, especially after the successful mediation by China between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is a clear indication of the growing Chinese political effectiveness. Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow exemplifies this change in perspective on world politics. The visit was historic since it shed light on an alternative discourse surrounding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Syrian regime is using earthquake diplomacy to gain more legitimacy and accelerate the normalization process in the region. Following the earthquake, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri met with Assad in Damascus and delivered humanitarian aid to Syria through the regime. The day after the visit of the UAE Foreign Minister al-Nahyan, who is trying to lead the normalization process with Syria, Assad allowed UN aid teams to cross into opposition-controlled areas of Syria. It is no secret that many Arab countries, including the UAE and Egypt, prefer normalizing ties with the Syrian regime. Although the American administration has expressed its opposition to normalization efforts with the Assad regime in the region, there is no indication of serious pressure being exerted on this issue.

Natural disasters, wars, and economic collapse tend to seriously undermine social order and make it impossible to address even people’s most basic needs. During such periods, it becomes difficult for communities to feed themselves, find shelter, receive medical attention, relocate, and communicate with others. Individuals and communities have provided emergency assistance to such individuals, without expecting anything in return, to address basic needs like food, shelter, and medical treatment throughout history.

The meetings held by the Turkish delegation during their visit to Washington earlier this week once again showed how necessary constant dialogue is due to the busy agenda of Turkish-American relations. Apart from bilateral issues, Türkiye and the United States need to step up their efforts in order to work together on regional and global issues. It is no secret that there are issues where the two NATO allies do not agree or, worse yet, pursue opposing policies. However, many challenges such as hot war, food crisis, energy, great power rivalry and climate change make it all the more necessary to focus on shared interests.

Last Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and end hostilities. The Chinese government has brokered the deal between the two estranged neighbors and regional enemies. With the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries have decided to exchange ambassadors and reopen embassies. According to the news agencies, the surprise development was announced in Beijing after several days (from March 6 to March 10) of intense deliberations between the two countries' top officials.

Africa has expressed opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron's new partnership strategy, which aims to shift away from the traditional French policy toward the continent, as some African observers remain skeptical of its potential to bring about real change

At the end of the G-20 Foreign Ministers' Summit held in New Delhi, the capital of India, the final text could not be published due to differences of opinion on Ukraine. The meeting was a preparation for the G-20 Leaders' Summit, which was planned to be held in the same city in September. The success of the meeting was also a matter of prestige for India, which wanted to increase its international profile by evaluating the West's policies that tried to distance China in recent years. Disagreements between the West and Russia and China over the Ukraine issue prevented Indian Prime Minister Modi's call to "focus on common points, not differences" from being answered. The fact that the final text could not be published despite Modi's efforts indicates that the international system crisis will continue to deepen.

The new assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy, which made headlines in the press, is that the Covid-19 virus may have "leaked from a laboratory". Although this assessment is at a 'low confidence level', it differs from the consensus of intelligence units and scientists. Contrary to the general opinion of government agencies, FBI Director Christopher Wray supported the Department of Energy's assessment by saying, "The FBI has been evaluating the source of the pandemic for quite some time, most likely a potential laboratory accident." The White House states that there is no consensus among government agencies on this issue. Despite this, the issue of the origin of the pandemic, which is on Washington's list of complaints about China, is again on the agenda, creating a new element of pressure against China.

U.S. officials have warned Beijing by leaking to the media that China is considering giving military aid to Russia, including heavy weapons, kamikaze drones, and other weapons.

Although China refrains from responding to America's policy by using military force, its efforts to gather intelligence by violating the U.S. airspace show that the struggle will continue in different areas.

In this article, I will briefly analyze some conventional and unconventional issues of 2022 and underline the increasing political crises in Western countries, all of which lead the world to a more chaotic period.