What is French President Emmanuel Macron trying to say with his “Incomplete and Unjust” World Discourse?
Speaking at the opening of the meeting called “Meeting for Peace” organized by the Catholic community Sant-Egidio in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron evaluated the relations with Russia, the organization of the European Union (EU) and the international system. Macron had previously participated in the events organized by this community and announced that peace in Europe would be built by gathering around a table with Russia, their current enemy, in October 2022.
Many comments have been made about the personality of French President Emmanuel Macron, who won the presidential elections held in France in April 2022 and became president for the second time. It is also claimed that he built a populist discourse within the framework of the dichotomy he established between reformist progressives and conservatives who reject movement and change (Özdikmenli, 2023: 129). Macron’s statement in 2019 that “NATO’s “brain death” had occurred was also on the agenda at that time and caused controversy. According to Macron, who later developed the exact opposite behavior of these words, Europe should no longer rely on the USA and NATO to defend itself, and Russia after the Soviet Union could not be said to be a threat (Alpar: 2019).
According to Huntington’s view, copied from Toynbee, “If civilizations encounter a challenge, they evolve to cope with it. If there is no challenge, they will relax and disappear.” Although it is not clear what Macron is trying to do at this point, it seems more likely that he is trying to repeat his populist rhetoric such as attracting attention and coming to the fore. Because after a while he doesn’t remember what he said, he changes it, and he can act in the opposite direction. In this respect, it cannot be said that he acted in a balanced way and that he was reliable as the head of a great state like France.
On the other hand, it is clear that Macron is not very happy with the influence of the USA and NATO on his country. France, as always, is inclined to act on its own, as a habit from the past, and in this context, it may have outbursts from time to time. When he is reminded of his true power, he is forced to retreat.
The incomplete and unfair world order that Macron brings to the agenda is already frequently brought to the agenda on many occasions. It is a known fact that the so-called world order, which was established after the Second World War with the dominant role of certain states and the interests of certain states, could not ensure the welfare and peace of the majority of the world, except for a certain number of people. It is also known that this inequality gradually increased after the Cold War and has reached unbearable levels today.
The issue that Macron brought up in his speech, “France should review its relations with Russia and consider a new European organization” after the Russia-Ukraine War, only means an admission of the mistake in French policies and the increasingly ineffective state of the EU and indicates that a war that could have been prevented through diplomatic means. It coincides with a period when the damage to the European economy is increasing day by day and is becoming more understood. Macron’s words, “Europe is neither fully EU nor NATO”, do not go further than expressing this fact.
Diğer taraftan, uluslararası sistemin adil olmadığı, bazı ülkelerin Birleşmiş Milletler sistemi içinde yeterince temsil edilmediği sözlerinin ise daha önceden söylendiğini unutmuş gibi gözüken Macron’un, günümüzde uluslararası sistemin temel kurumları olan; Birleşmiş Milletler, Dünya Bankası ve Uluslararası Para Fonunun çok daha adil olan kurumlarla değişmesi gerektiğini ve yeni bir düzene ihtiyaç olduğunu belirtmesinin ise samimi olmadığı değerlendirilmektedir.
On the other hand, Macron seems to have forgotten that the words that the international system is not fair and that some countries are not adequately represented in the United Nations system have been said before, and today the basic institutions of the international system; It is considered that it is not sincere to state that the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should be replaced with more fair institutions and that a new order is needed.
Source:
Alpar, Güray. (November 30, 2019). Discussed NATO and the Search for a New Security System in the World.
Alpar, Güray. (06 December 2019). NATO Summit and Search for New Targets.
Özdikmenli Çelikoğlu, İ. (2023). Emmanuel Macron as an Example of Centrist-Technocratic Populism: An Evaluation After the 2023 Pension Reform. Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Business Administration Journal, 24(2): 129-154.
