Retired Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, in an interview with The Cradle, stated that the current situation represents a collapse of the global security order established after World War II. Under US President Donald Trump, the US has been withdrawing from international commitments. Gürdeniz described this as a systemic breakdown, stating that the defeat of NATO in Ukraine was not just a military loss, but the end of an illusion. He also mentioned the Israeli genocide in Gaza as further eroding the legitimacy of this order. Gürdeniz believes that what Trump is offering is a strategic withdrawal that will allow the US to focus on revitalizing its domestic industry, while acknowledging that NATO is a burden that needs to be shed. Gürdeniz sees the multipolar world as allowing nations to find common ground based on interests, rather than coercion and believes that it is now time to build institutions that reflect this reality, such as new trade systems, security structures and development banks that are not controlled by the West. Gürdeniz believes that the EU’s intentions towards Turkey are to use the country as a buffer zone, a storage facility for refugees and as a source of cheap labor. He argues that Turkey should not seek to join such a club and instead look to the East, building relationships with countries like Azerbaijan and China, as well as focusing on transportation, energy and digital communication. Gürdeniz also believes that Turkey should not continue to pursue illusions in Brussels, but rather integrate into the rising Asian century and secure its geopolitical fate in Eurasia on its own terms. Gürdeniz is considered one of the most important strategic thinkers in Turkey and is the main author of the “Blue Homeland” strategy for the Turkish Navy, which aims to strengthen Turkey’s role in the region and secure its access to resources in the Mediterranean. Despite its significant military presence in NATO, Turkey has been excluded from various initiatives, such as the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which deals with shared use of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey has also been in a dispute with Greece over islands in the Aegean Sea since the end of World War I and its relationship with the US has been strained, with a failed coup attempt in 2016 supported by the US.
Vice Admiral Cem Gürdeniz
