Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in Turkey

Abstract

Turkey’s soft power capacity comes from its history, culture and geography. Rather than seeing them as obstacles or burdens, the Turks are now turning them into strategic assets in both domestic and foreign policy. The new Turkish public diplomacy is building on Turkey’s expanding soft power in the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus. As Turkey engages new regions and emerging actors as well as continues relations with its old allies, it develops new capacities for the various elements of soft power and strategic communication in regional and global contexts. The new Turkey that is emerging is also creating a new Turkish narrative with multiple dimensions and faces. The task of the new Turkish public diplomacy is to tell the story of the new Turkey to a wide ranging audience across the globe. As Turkey overcomes its old fears and builds a new identity for itself, the process of change transforming the country will have a deep impact on Turkish domestic and foreign policy

Keywords

• Public diplomacy, soft power, Turkish foreign policy, Office of Public Diplomacy, smart power.

References

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5. For full text of the decree and more information about Institute of Public Diplomacy activities, visit the official website of the Office of Public Diplomacy: http://kdk.gov.tr/.
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19. For example, the number of registered journalists residing in Turkey in 2002 was 36, whereas this number has increased to 265 by 2009. The diversity in foreign media agencies by region and nation demonstrate the shared interest in various parts of the world. Moreover, the attention paid to national and local elections taking place in Turkey since 2002 confirms the increasing political profile of Turkey.