NATO’s Ankara Summit demands 5% GDP for defence—but the real story unfolds at Izmir Fair in November. Join us on Telegram , X , and VK . Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su Turkey, as always, is once again living through historic days and witnessing history in the making.
At a time when multiple conflicts are unfolding simultaneously across the globe, the orientation of the imperialist-capitalist system and its “new era decisions” will be shaped at the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on 7–8 July.
Naturally, this summit, taking place amid such turbulent times, will address issues ranging from the Russia–Ukraine war, melting Arctic ice, and imperialist aggression against Iran, to rising tensions in the Pacific, the China–Taiwan dispute, the future of the Korean Peninsula, militarization in Europe, the energy crisis, climate change, and much more.
Yet perhaps its most significant agenda item will be the plan for alliance members to raise their defence spending to 5 percent of their GDP. NATO is demanding concrete roadmaps from its members on this matter.
Although the increase is expected to be implemented gradually over a ten-year period, this should not be interpreted as a source of relief for member states. On the contrary, working toward the 5 percent target and ultimately reaching it require, in practice, the same set of measures.
Throughout this process, even if the target itself is not fully achieved, every intermediate plan that is put into effect will further deepen integration—or, in other words, dependency—within the alliance year after year.
This dependency is being constructed not only in military, political, and economic terms, but also through technology, an equally crucial dimension.
Moreover, while it may not carry the same historical weight as the Ankara Summit, another event of major importance for NATO’s technological modernization process will also take place in Turkey just four months later, in November 2026: NATO Edge 26 in İzmir. “Security of the future” Scheduled for November 2026 in İzmir, NATO Edge 26 is being promoted through concepts such as innovation, readiness, and the security of the future. In essence, NATO Edge events serve as platforms where military technologies, the defence industry, and warfighting capabilities are brought together in a coordinated ecosystem.
The official promotional text published by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), which is organizing the event, offers a revealing perspective:
“NATO Edge 26 will focus on strengthening NATO’s readiness and warfighting capability through faster, smarter, and more scalable partnerships with industry.
…NCIA is excited to continue this legacy in Turkey in 2026 and take the event a step further through a renewed format centered on impactful solution development and industry partnerships.
The 2026 edition will place industry participation at its core, providing more direct engagement opportunities, focused briefing sessions, deeper insights into NATO’s upcoming procurement requirements and priorities, and broader opportunities for industry solutions to be presented to NATO decision-makers, end users, and potential partners.” Partnerships, participation, and the marketplace What we are looking at is, fundamentally, a military ecosystem operating according to free-market principles, one in which partnerships and participation occupy a central role. At the exhibition and accompanying events to be held at the renowned Fuar İzmir venue, defence companies, governments, and military command structures will seek cooperation to strengthen what they describe as “war preparedness.”
Indeed, according to the organizers themselves, with more than 200 participants and exhibitors, the event is designed not merely as a technology fair but as an interaction platform that will help shape NATO’s future procurement architecture.
Over the course of the three-day program, the enhancement of C4ISR capabilities will also take center stage. C4ISR—a system integrating command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—enables military leadership to monitor the battlefield in real time and make the fastest and most effective decisions through a unified digital network. Such systems, in turn, are often developed by competing defence firms working closely alongside military institutions.
As NATO’s threat perceptions and operational coordination requirements evolve, questions surrounding the extent to which sensitive military systems should remain under national control—or instead be integrated into the alliance’s broader architecture—have become among the defining debates of this new era. These discussions mirror other preparatory processes already underway, including the militarization of civilian infrastructure, healthcare services, transportation networks, civil defence, and broader areas of public life—developments that have also contributed to the strengthening of the far right in many parts of Europe.
The sessions to be held in İzmir this autumn are therefore expected to focus largely on NATO’s digital transformation strategy, the expansion of cyber defence capabilities, and resilience against hybrid threats.
One of the event’s keynote figures will be Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Cyber and Digital Transformation. He is scheduled to deliver the opening address, participate in discussion panels, and engage with attendees throughout the event. Who is participating? The list of participants is both extensive and noteworthy. According to the event’s official website, 142 companies—including Turkish firms—have already registered.
More significantly, a large majority of these companies maintain various forms of business relations with Israel, ranging from direct investment and local offices to joint ventures and military procurement arrangements.
Among the more familiar names are Airbus, which utilizes Israeli technology; BAE Systems, which supplies electronic missile kits and targeting technologies to Israel; CENTUM, a partner of the Israeli defence company Rafael; Quantum-Systems, a German-Israeli joint enterprise; and, of course, Palantir, well known for developing AI-assisted surveillance technologies used in Israel.
From Turkey, prominent participants include Aselsan, Havelsan, Roketsan, Meteksan, TÜBİTAK, and even Türk Telekom.
It is worth reiterating a difficult reality: we are not merely part of a military alliance, but also participants in a technology-industrial complex deeply intertwined with global capital—and, in many respects, serving its interests.
The decisions on 5 percent defence spending to be taken in Ankara, the systems to be showcased in İzmir, and the partnerships to be forged there are, according to this perspective, drawing our country into an ever-deepening web of dependency. Yet the government presents this very process—one that critics argue runs counter to, and even undermines, the concept of national interests—as evidence of “setting the agenda,” being an “indispensable actor,” and demonstrating “Turkey’s strength.”
As the Atlantic system prepares for what is perceived as a major conflict, Turkey, with its dynamic military, its political system capable of passing legislation rapidly, and its ability to maintain political consolidation among the population, indeed emerges as a significant actor.
However, in a political and economic environment where every increase in military spending is ultimately financed at the expense of public resources, this process means, for many of Turkey’s poorer citizens, nothing but greater hardship and destruction.
Protecting society from the destructive consequences of such a form of “agenda-setting,” this argument concludes, requires not participation in the game itself, but the determination to disrupt it altogether.