On Feb. 24, we all turned to social media to see how one more war had erupted in another corner of the world. This time, it was Eastern Europe. Story after story and seemingly endless footage started circulating, showing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For those who closely covered and followed the region, it was an expected development; but war is war whether you expect it or not! Millions of people scurried for shelter to escape the bombardments. They are now displaced, have changed their daily routines and also lost their relatives.
Basically, the war is the epitome of a time when channels for dialogue and diplomacy are shut down. It’s true and well-known that Russia and Ukraine have been in a row regarding racial, territorial or political contradictions for years. However, what prevented such a dramatic war from happenning was always the chance given to talks at diplomatic tables. Whenever the parties were unable to discuss their rift, the region witnessed a hot tension.
Communication is a way for parties to exchange information with a common set of symbols, signs or behaviors. In the Russia-Ukraine context, there is no information but disinformation and you cannot even mention the common symbols, signs or behaviors. Recently, Turkey organized a comprehensive diplomatic forum, namely the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), in the southern resort city of Antalya where top foreign policymakers and experts gathered for the sake of diplomacy for the second time. The war, naturally, topped the agenda as Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met with the host Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. The gathering yielded no results but it was a step toward communication or, at least, the parties’ high-level representatives could talk to each other with a common system of symbols, like diplomatic kindness. In another world, the ADF, with the theme of “re-coding diplomacy,” could have managed to recode diplomacy through a real example and done its best to convince warring sides to communicate.
Besides the Russia-Ukraine war, the 21st century is witnessing countless outcomes of the lack of communication. Xenophobia, Islamophobia, violations of freedom of expression, radicalization, fear psychosis and anger are on the rise all across the world. At academic, nongovernmental organization (NGO) and media levels, it’s reported almost every month that numbers are terrifying for the future and the loss of empathy and tolerance toward others is here to stay.
Considering all, in the aspect of interstate dimensions, diplomacy is the only tool to invest in while other social factors can be evaluated in their respective categories. For Turkey’s part, feedback revealed how the ADF achieved its goal for communication among states. However, its alike numbers worldwide need to increase to give diplomatic voices more space for conflicts and crises.
Let’s go back to the Russia-Ukraine war. It is obvious that the only solution is to end the conflict. Steps to open communication channels are taken daily. It’s the Kremlin's turn to stop its aggression now. No one is safe until everyone is safe and, for us to be safe, we need communication. Considering the tragic and cumulative levels of the Russia-Ukraine war, we need it more than ever. Otherwise, the future is not bright.
