The Turkish Soft Power

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 1,0, University of Bath, language: English, abstract: Conventionally, politicians and diplomats defined power as the control over a territory and its population, the possession of natural resources, economic size, military force, and internal political stability. Today, this emphasis on using military force to exert control over a territory, its population and its natural resources which marked earlier eras is losing significance. Factors such as technology, education and economic growth are becoming more important in the international struggle for power. As the great powers of today are less able to use their traditional power resources to achieve their goals, private actors and small states have become more powerful. Joseph Nye identified five trends which contributed to this diffusion of power: economic interdependence, transnational actors, nationalism in weak states, the spread of technology and changing political issues. He argued that these trends suggest a second, more attractive way of exercising power than traditional means, and called this aspect of power “co-optive” or “soft” power. Since the end of the Cold War, the concept of soft power has been used extensively in discussions about US foreign policy and has more recently also been used to describe China's foreign policy. But far less attention has been given to how this term can be used in other cultural contexts to describe intra-regional politics, such as in the Middle East. Turkey and Qatar are two countries that try to navigate through this dangerous region in a different way. But what they have in common is that they both managed to improve their reputation and increase their visibility in the past decade. This has translated this into increased policy impact on the regional and global stage. Is the concept of soft power useful to explain the increased power of attraction that emanates from these countries? (...) This bachelor thesis will use the concept of soft power to explain Turkish and Qatari foreign policies over the past decade, as well as the most recent developments. It also aims to elucidate why both of the countries have built up their soft power resources, and does so by focusing on the concept of “human security”.

Although Turkey is lost in the shuffle in global academic discussions evoking the concept of soft power, it occupies centre stage in soft power debates in the context of Southeastern Europe and beyond, among Turkey originated and regional experts. Since the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium, a divergence of ideas and even facts regarding Turkey's soft power position in Southeast Europe have been occupying both academic and topical discussions. Taking all the various approaches into account, it might fairly be argued that Turkey is not a purely effective and unarguable soft power in Southeast Europe, according to Nye's coining of the term. Yet, considering the transnational state apparatuses, such as the Diyanet, Yunus Emre Institutes and others, that the country runs and the image that it carries among the Muslim populations of the region, it may also be fairly claimed that Turkey displays strong elements of soft power. Therefore, I argue that while Turkey has many soft power tools and much soft power potential, it has also many weak points within its current circumstances. Challenging the previous discussions on whether Turkey is a soft power or there is a discursive level of transformation into the Turkish soft power, within the paper, I claim that Turkey is an ambivalent soft power particularly in the context of Southeast Europe. According to Nye, soft power is the ability of a state to persuade others to do what it wants without sanctions, force or coercion. Countries' skills in digital diplomacy, cultural outputs, economic models, commitments to basic freedoms, human rights and democracy are also the other aspects of the soft power. Under these circumstances, roughly between 2002-2013, Turkey's AKP initiated a pro-democratic agenda alongside its unofficial coalition partner the Gülen Movement, a shift that positioned Turkey externally as an influential rising soft power player focused on democracy and humanitarian aid, in the region. However, I underlined that Turkey has not managed to establish itself regional as a permanent, solid and indisputable soft power player because 2010 the AKP has been shifting in the direction of authoritarianism, shrinking economic environment disproportionate use of Islamist discourse and policies at home and abroad, particularly into the countries of Southeast Europe.This new-born religion-based and repressive policy of Turkey, it seems, can not simply be regarded as an element of soft power. It creates, however, different effects on different actors in the region: some groups (mostly Muslims) are rather happy with Turkey's religiously fuelled approach, while some others are seriously concerned. This one of the reasons of why I prefer to define Turkey as an ambiguous actor which has not been instrumentalising its soft power resources efficiently. Yet, Turkey can still increase its capacity. In order to do so, it should increase its democratic credentials and strengthen the constitutional institutions, and thereby boost the EU process. It should declare that it will not use its religious influence to provide guardianship for Muslims in a hegemonic way. On the contrary, it should promote religious freedom and peaceful coexistence both domestically and in the region. Supporting a specific religious group would harm Southeast Europe that has suffered greatly from religious divisions and conflicts. Bringing its sui generis secular culture to the fore would differentiate Turkey from Wahhabi and Salafist powers that are also trying to exercise influence on the region. Turkey should also be careful in its emphasis on the common Ottoman heritage with the countries of the region, because this does not necessarily imply a peaceful and harmonious past, as envisaged by the AKP elite. Lastly, Turkey should not view the region as a single entity and should avoid implementing wholesale policies for the region. Rather, it should tailor specific policies for each country considering the sensitivity of historical, cultural, sociological and political dynamics in each context.

This book offers a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary analysis of Turkey-Africa relations. Bringing together renowned authors to discuss various dimensions of Turkey’s African engagement while casting a critical analysis on the sustainability of Turkey-Africa relations, this book draws upon the rising power literature to examine how Turkish foreign policy has been conceptualized and situated theoretically. Moving from an examination of the multilateral dimension of Turkey’s Africa policy with a focus on soft power instruments of public diplomacy, humanitarian/development assistance, religious activities and airline diplomacy, it then illuminates the economic and military dimensions of Turkey’s policy including trade relations, business practices, security cooperation and peacekeeping discourse. Overall, it shows how Turkey’s African opening can be integrated into its wider interest in gaining global power status and its desire to become a strong regional power. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of Turkish foreign policy/politics, African politics, and more broadly to international relations.

Gradually since 2003, Turkey's autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to make Turkey a great power -- in the tradition of past Turkish leaders from the late Ottoman sultans to Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Here the leading authority Soner Cagaptay, author of The New Sultan -- the first biography of President Erdogan -- provides a masterful overview of the power politics in the Middle East and Turkey's place in it. Erdogan has picked an unorthodox model in the context of recent Turkish history, attempting to cast his country as a stand-alone Middle Eastern power. In doing so Turkey has broken ranks with its traditional Western allies, including the United States and has embraced an imperial-style foreign policy which has aimed to restore Turkey's Ottoman-era reach into the Arabian Middle East and the Balkans. Today, in addition to a domestic crackdown on dissent and journalistic freedoms, driven by Erdogan's style of governance, Turkey faces a hostile world. Ankara has nearly no friends left in the Middle East, and it faces a threat from resurgent historic adversaries: Russia and Iran. Furthermore, Turkey cannot rely on the unconditional support of its traditional Western allies. Can Erdogan deliver Turkey back to safety? What are the risks that lie ahead for him, and his country? How can Turkey truly become a great power, fulfilling a dream shared by many Turks, the sultans, Ataturk, and Erdogan himself?

This study examines the soft power of Turkey's foreign policy towards Middle Eastern countries under the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) or the Justice and Developed party between 2002-2011. Turkey's foreign policy used hard power means to deal with security issues with these countries during the Cold War era. When AKP is in power, however, Turkey adopts and implements soft power in its foreign policy to enhance its relations with the Middle Eastern countries. The objectives of this study are to firstly to determine the main elements of Turkey's soft power, secondly to illustrate the successes of Turkish policy of soft power in the Middle East. The third objective is to evaluate the challenges faced by the Turkish soft power policy towards the Middle Eastern countries. In order to accomplish the research objectives, the study relies on conceptual framework of soft power introduced by Joseph Nye, Jr. for analysis. The method of the study is based on an analytical approach. The findings of the research are summarized as follows: Turkey's democratic model, its public diplomacy, its cultural and economic relations towards the Middle Eastern countries reveal that they have been highly successful in improving Turkey's relations with old rivals such as Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Despite some challenges that face Turkey's soft power such as the limitation of its public diplomacy, principles of democracy, and liberty with the advent of the Arab uprisings and Kurdish issue, Turkey still has the asset, legitimacy, and credibility to use soft power in its foreign policy towards the Middle Eastern countries.

Central Asia often evokes images of imperial power rivalry dating back to the 19th century. Yet as the region’s international politics becomes more complex in the age of globalization, the need for new ways of looking at its many actors is more pressing than ever. Today even the traditional great powers rely increasingly on subtle forms of influence to augment their military might and economic clout in order to achieve their objectives in Central Asia. Bearing this in mind, Soft Power in Central Asia examines the patterns of attraction and persuasion that help shape the political choices of countries in the region. Starting with an investigation of soft power projection by the US, Russia and China, it sheds light on normative transfer and public diplomacy of the European Union, Turkey and Israel, and concludes with a discussion of the Central Asian republics’ active stance in the competition for the hearts and minds. Containing original chapters contributed by leading experts in the field, the volume will appeal to scholars and professionals with interest in international relations, political science and Central Asian studies.

The Rhetoric of Soft Power: Public Diplomacy in Global Contexts provides a comparative assessment of public diplomacy and strategic communication initiatives in order to portray how Joseph Nye's notion of "soft power" has translated into context-specific strategies of international influence. The book examines four cases--Japan, Venezuela, China, and the United States--to illuminate the particular significance of culture, foreign publics, and communication technologies for the foreign policy ambitions of each country. This study explores the notion of soft power as a set of theoretical arguments about power, and as a reflection of how nation-states perceive what is an increasingly necessary perspective on international relations in an age of ubiquitous global communication flows and encroaching networks of non-state actors. Through an analysis of policy discourse, public diplomacy initiatives, and related programs of strategic influence, soft power in each case represents a localized set of assumptions about the requirements of persuasion, the relevance of foreign audiences to state goals, and the perception of what counts as a soft power resource. This timely analysis provides an unprecedented comparative investigation of the relationship between soft power and public diplomacy.

In the Caucasus region, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and their powerful neighbours Russia, Turkey, Iran and the EU negotiate their future policies and spheres of influence. This volume explores the role of religion in the South Caucasus to describe and explain how transnational religious relationships intermingle with transnational political relationships. The concept of ‘soft power’ is the heuristic starting point of this important investigation to define the importance of religion in the region. Drawing on a three-year project supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the book brings together academics from the South Caucasus and across Europe to offer original empirical research and contributions from experienced researchers in political science, history and oriental studies. This book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of post-Soviet studies, international relations, religious studies and political science.

This volume examines contemporary political relations between Turkey and the Middle East. In the light of the Arab Uprisings of 2011, the Syria Crisis, the escalation of regional terrorism and the military coup attempt in Turkey, it illustrates the dramatic fluctuations in Turkish foreign policy towards key Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The contributors analyze Turkey’s deepening involvement in Middle Eastern regional affairs, also addressing issues such as terrorism, social and political movements and minority rights struggles. While these problems have traditionally been regarded as domestic matters, this book highlights their increasingly regional dimension and the implications for the foreign affairs of Turkey and countries in the Middle East.

Turkey is positioned to become the twenty-first centuryÆs first Muslim power. Based on a dynamic economy and energetic foreign policy, TurkeyÆs growing engagement with other countries has made it a key player in the newly emerging multidirectional world order. TurkeyÆs trade patterns and societal interaction with other nations have broadened and deepened dramatically in the past decade, transforming Turkey from a Cold War outpost into a significant player internationally. TurkeyÆs ascendance and the changes that have taken place under the leadership of TurkeyÆs Muslim conservative government have prompted its policymakers to craft a new vision of their role in twenty-first-century society. This developing worldview animates TurkeyÆs desire to sometimes take the lead with its co-religionists and occasionally challenge its partners in the West, while showing no inclination to become an irresponsible rising power. If it can consolidate liberal democracy at home, Turkey could also assume the role of serving as an example for the newly emerging governments brought about by the Arab Spring. The cornerstone of TurkeyÆs rise has been the governmentÆs ability to foster stable political conditions for economic growth, alongside a foreign policy that balances TurkeyÆs Muslim identity with its Western overlay, including its strong ties to the United States. Accordingly, policies that could tarnish TurkeyÆs reputation as a bastion of stability risk undermining its position between Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. This realization has been the catalyst for Ankara's careful management of Eastern and Western desires and expectations. The result is a new Turkey: a twenty-first-century Muslim power that promotes stability without the confines of a regional, European rubric.