Ashraf AboArafe
A statement issued by the Directorate of Communications of the Turkish Presidency announced the launch of the International Strategic Communications Summit (Stratcom 2026) in Istanbul, held under the theme: “Disruption in the International Order: Crises, Narratives, and the Search for Order.”
In a video message addressed to the summit, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed participants to Istanbul, describing the city as a crossroads of continents, cultures, and civilizations. He stressed that the international order established after World War II is facing a profound crisis of legitimacy, with its institutions and norms increasingly losing effectiveness. Erdoğan further noted that amid escalating conflicts, humanitarian crises, and tragedies—particularly in Gaza—the restoration of peace, stability, and justice has become more urgent than ever.
In his remarks, Cevdet Yılmaz underscored the strategic importance of communication in today’s complex environment. He emphasized that communication has become a cornerstone of internal security by strengthening societal resilience, facilitating access to accurate information, and enhancing the fight against disinformation. Yılmaz also highlighted that the current period is marked by interconnected global and regional crises, while the capacity of the international system to ensure justice and stability continues to erode.
Within this context, Burhanettin Duran, in his opening speech, stated that the summit will address the technical dimensions of strategic communication and the multidimensional crises shaping the global order, alongside the narratives that deepen these crises. He asserted that the post–World War II system has moved beyond gradual erosion and that the international community is entering a new and uncertain era whose contours are not yet fully defined. Referring to the well-known concept by Immanuel Wallerstein, Duran remarked that “we stand at the end of the world as we know it,” emphasizing that what once belonged to academic forecasts has now become a tangible global reality.
