EDITORIAL
The task facing the emerging civilization from Asia
The primary challenge confronting developing nations globally is the attainment ofsustainable development. To achieve this objective, governments must undertake substantialstrides in the realm of research and technology. Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that there areno shortcuts for this. To establish its own growth trajectory, each nation will assess its existingand potentially accessible national resources and capabilities. Initially, impediments that restrictor obstruct the evaluation of the existing national capacity must be eradicated. Secondly, toattain the developmental objective, the potential of the state and society must be activated.These objectives can be attained by structuring the state’s institutional framework in alignmentwith this aim.
The principal force for attaining sustainable development is humans, the fundamentalproductive force. That is, human capital is a country’s most important resource. Developingnations must implement a sustainable, human-centered planning strategy to attain development.The essential element of this strategy is to establish medium- and long-term objectives and torestructure the state and society accordingly. The prevailing neoliberal system prioritizes thepowerful and sidelines the marginalized. However, engaging the entire populace is essential forgenuinely sustainable and effective development. To mobilize the entire people, the developmentplan must be founded on principles that address societal disparities and respect the interests ofthe whole public.
It is clear that the imperialist system’s imposition of neoliberal free market principles ondeveloping nations yields no benefits in terms of development. Furthermore, these impositionshinder these nations from realizing their distinct developmental objectives and result in furtherreliance on the imperialist system. Consequently, emerging nations must formulate a long-termplan grounded in the public interest.
Another imperative is the significant scientific and technological gap that the emergingworld must bridge with industrialized nations. In the contemporary era, to liberate themselvesfrom the constraints of the imperialist system, nations of the Global South must establish analliance in the domains of science and technology, akin to their collaboration in the securityfield. In order to address each nation’s needs, a partnership is formed in which nations pool theirsuperior resources and talents and support one another in the face of adversity.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has initiated collaboration in science and technologyinside the Global South, among other fields. Countries involved in the BRI are engaging invarious collaborations in scientific cooperation, including exchanges of students and scientists,co-organized scientific events, jointly constructed research laboratories, and high-qualitycollaborative scientific and technological projects. Nevertheless, we remain at the inception ofthe journey. Together with their collaboration in other areas, emerging nations’ collaboration inthe scientific and technological spheres will be a major step toward creating a fair and just worldfor all people.
Fikret Akfırat
Editor-in-chief