Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives of Turkic Republics

Year 2017, Volume: 22 Issue: 1, 91 - 114, 01.04.2017

Fırat Purtaş

Abstract

This paper’s aim is to shed light on cultural cooperation activities carried out among the Turkic republics over 25 years of independence and to analyse initiatives of cultural diplomacy which they have undertaken on a global level. The main argument put forward in this article is that the newly independent Turkic republics determined a culture-based policy for their state building. While this culture-based policy has contributed to the establishment of the nation-state and national identity on the domestic level, it has also contributed to the recognition of these republics as esteemed members of the international community. This paper is an attempt to disclose that as a regional cultural cooperation organization, TURKSOY has been a common platform which has played a key role in the revival of the national culture of the Turkic republics as well as in the promotion thereof on a global scale

Keywords

TURKSOY, Turkic Republics, Cultural Diplomacy, UNESCO, Turkic World.

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