--- title: "Turkey's evolving role in a new global geopolitical and" description: "Turkey's evolving role in a new global geopolitical and security order is a professional conference in Washington, DC, United States, Feb 17, 2026." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/conferences/professional/turkey-s-evolving-role-in-a-new-global-geopolitical-and-security-order-2026" --- # Turkey's evolving role in a new global geopolitical and security order Feb 17, 2026[Washington, DC, United States](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1\&query=Washington%2C%20DC%2C%20United%20States)In-person [Registration open](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/turkeys-evolving-role-in-a-new-global-geopolitical-and-security-order/) This event focuses on the evolving geopolitical and security role of TUR in the contemporary global order. It will explore how TUR's foreign policy and strategic decisions are reshaping its relationships with major international actors and its position within various regional and global frameworks. The discussions are designed to provide insights into the complexities of TUR's diplomatic engagements and its impact on international security dynamics. ## Committees & topics - UNHRC Human Rights Council - UNSC United Nations Security Council - WHO World Health Organization ## Why it matters TUR's strategic location and its active engagement in multiple geopolitical arenas make its evolving role a critical subject for international relations. Its foreign policy choices have significant implications for regional stability in areas such as the Middle East, the Black Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Understanding these dynamics is essential for policymakers, analysts, and anyone interested in the future of global security. The event offers a platform to analyze TUR's balancing act between various global powers and its pursuit of an independent foreign policy. This includes examining its relationships with traditional allies and its growing ties with other nations. The insights gained from such discussions are vital for comprehending the broader shifts occurring in the international system and for anticipating future geopolitical trends. ## How to prepare Participants should prepare by familiarizing themselves with TUR's recent foreign policy decisions and its relationships with key international players, including the USA. A strong understanding of TUR's domestic political landscape and its historical foreign policy doctrines will also be beneficial. Consider how TUR's actions influence regional security and its standing in international organizations. Engaging with the concepts of 'Dynamic Analysis' and 'What Is Stakeholder Mapping?' from the Model Diplomat lessons can provide a robust framework for understanding the multifaceted nature of TUR's international relations. These tools will help in dissecting the various interests and influences at play, enabling a more nuanced interpretation of the discussions. Additionally, exploring '[Engagement Strategies](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/engagement-strategies)' can offer perspectives on how different actors interact with TUR. ## Country perspectives Where the most-relevant 2 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile. [Türkiye](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Actively seeking to redefine its geopolitical role and influence in a multipolar world.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Central subject of the event, with its foreign policy and security strategies being the primary focus of analysis.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Observing and engaging with TUR's evolving foreign policy, particularly concerning NATO and regional security.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [A key partner and sometimes a point of contention for TUR, making its perspective crucial for understanding TUR's global positioning.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) ## Topics & background The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it. 1 UNHRC ### Human Rights Council The Human Rights Council was established by General Assembly Resolution 60/251 in 2006, replacing the Commission on Human Rights, which had been criticized for politicization and selective scrutiny. Composed of 47 elected member states, the Council oversees the Universal Periodic Review, appoints Special Procedures mandate holders, and issues resolutions on country-specific and thematic human rights concerns. Its early agenda was dominated by post-9/11 counterterrorism abuses, the Israeli-Palestinian question, and the Arab Spring; over time it has expanded into digital rights, climate justice, and corporate accountability. Two current debates illustrate this evolution. Following the 2024 OHCHR work on generative AI, states are weighing how ICCPR Article 19 protections on free expression apply to algorithmic content moderation and whether a dedicated Special Rapporteur on AI and human rights should be created. In parallel, General Assembly Resolution 76/300 (2022) recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, raising the question of how that right is operationalized for populations displaced by climate shocks, who fall outside the 1951 Refugee Convention. Both files expose familiar fault lines between states emphasizing sovereignty and digital governance on their own terms, and those pushing for binding international frameworks. For a conference focused on Turkey's evolving global role, the UNHRC is a useful arena: Ankara is both a major host of displaced populations and an increasingly assertive voice on Muslim-world human rights questions, while facing its own scrutiny under the UPR mechanism. Key players - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Rejoined the Council in 2022; pushes country-specific scrutiny and digital rights norms.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) - [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Defends a sovereignty-first reading of human rights and resists intrusive AI or environmental mandates.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) - [Turkey](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Major refugee-hosting state shaping debates on climate displacement and Muslim-world rights.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) - [Germany](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [EU anchor pressing for binding AI accountability and stronger environmental rights frameworks.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) - [Brazil](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/brazil) [Leading Global South voice linking climate justice, digital rights, and Council reform.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/brazil) - [Pakistan](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/pakistan) [OIC coordinator on religious freedom and a key broker on displacement-related resolutions.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/pakistan) 2 UNSC ### United Nations Security Council The Security Council, established under Chapter V of the UN Charter, holds primary responsibility for international peace and security, with binding authority under Chapter VII. Its structure — five permanent veto-holding members and ten elected members — has been largely unchanged since 1945, even as the geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically. Post-Cold War activism in the 1990s gave way to renewed great-power deadlock after the 2003 Iraq war and, more acutely, after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has frozen the Council on several flagship files. Two agenda items capture today's strain. In Sudan, the war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has produced the world's largest displacement crisis, with credible reports of atrocity crimes in Darfur. The Council's Resolution 1591 arms embargo is poorly enforced, humanitarian access is contested, and ICC referrals remain politically charged. Separately, the Open-Ended Working Group on ICTs has advanced discussions on responsible state behavior in cyberspace, but disagreement persists over whether existing international law suffices or whether a new binding cyber treaty is needed, and over how to attribute and respond to attacks on critical infrastructure. Turkey, while not a current permanent member, is directly implicated in both files as a drone supplier, mediator, and NATO member whose posture on Sudan, the Black Sea, and cyber norms shapes Council dynamics from the outside. Key players - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [P5 member pushing accountability on Sudan and Western-aligned cyber norms.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) - [Russia](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [P5 member with ties to RSF-adjacent networks and a sovereignty-first cyber doctrine.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) - [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [P5 member emphasizing non-interference and resisting expansive cyber attribution regimes.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) - [United Kingdom](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [P5 penholder on Sudan, coordinating sanctions and humanitarian language.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) - [France](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [P5 member active on Sahel-Sudan linkages and digital governance frameworks.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) - [United Arab Emirates](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-arab-emirates) [Regional powerbroker in Sudan accused of backing the RSF; key to any settlement.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-arab-emirates) 3 WHO ### World Health Organization Founded in 1948, the World Health Organization is the UN specialized agency for global health, with the World Health Assembly as its supreme decision-making body. The WHO sets technical standards, coordinates outbreak response under the 2005 International Health Regulations, and runs flagship programs from polio eradication to tobacco control. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed serious gaps: delayed information sharing, inequitable vaccine access, and limited authority to compel member-state compliance, prompting parallel negotiations on a Pandemic Agreement and IHR amendments, the latter adopted in 2024. Today's agenda is shaped by overlapping crises. Negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement continue to grapple with pathogen and benefit sharing, technology transfer, and One Health surveillance. Health systems in conflict zones — Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Syria — face attacks on medical facilities and collapsing primary care, testing WHO's emergency operations and humanitarian neutrality. Antimicrobial resistance, climate-linked disease spread, and the financing of universal health coverage round out a crowded agenda, all under pressure from constrained donor budgets and the politicization of health data. Turkey is a relevant actor here: it hosts one of the world's largest refugee populations with significant public health implications, has built domestic vaccine and pharmaceutical capacity, and positions itself as a bridge between OECD donors and the Global South on health equity. Key players - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Largest historical donor; central to pandemic financing and vaccine R\&D debates.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) - [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Key player on origins-tracing, pathogen sharing, and South-South health diplomacy.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) - [Germany](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Top European funder driving the Pandemic Agreement and IHR reform.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) - [South Africa](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/south-africa) [Leads Global South push on equitable access, TRIPS waivers, and mRNA tech transfer.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/south-africa) - [Turkey](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Major refugee-hosting state and emerging vaccine producer bridging donor and recipient blocs.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) - [India](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) [World's largest vaccine manufacturer shaping access and pandemic-preparedness rules.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) ## Resources News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for Turkey's evolving role in a new global geopolitical and security order. Recent reporting to ground your prep [India Rebukes Pakistan at UNSC on Kashmir](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/india-rebukes-pakistan-at-unsc-on-kashmir) [India Pushes for Global South in UNSC](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/india-advocates-for-greater-global-south-representation-in-unsc) Lessons Bite-sized lessons to build the basics [Hidden Stakeholders](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/hidden-stakeholders) [Engagement Strategies](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/engagement-strategies) [Dynamic Analysis](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/dynamic-analysis) [Stakeholder Mapping Workshop](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/stakeholder-workshop) Courses Guided courses that go deeper on the topic [Advanced Negotiation](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/advanced-negotiation) [Multilateral Negotiation](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/multilateral-negotiation) [Policy Brief Writing](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/policy-brief) [Conflict Resolution](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/conflict-resolution) The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Turkey](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/turkey) [Germany](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Brazil](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/brazil) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/brazil) [Pakistan](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/pakistan) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/pakistan) [Russia](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [United Kingdom](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [France](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [United Arab Emirates](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-arab-emirates) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-arab-emirates) [South Africa](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/south-africa) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/south-africa) [India](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) ## Frequently asked questions - - Free account Save conferences, research any topic with AI, build position papers, and keep your daily prep streak — free. 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