The Efficacy of Turkey’s Soft Power Activities Under the Justice and Development Party’s Rule

Turkey’s foreign policy began to increasingly rely on soft power with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) coming to power in 2002. Economic development and political reforms achieved in Turkey provided the AKP government the means to use the existing soft power instruments and create new ones to pursue its foreign policy goals. Despite the use of extensive soft power resources, Turkey’s foreign policy has been facing many challenges, even in the countries which have been receiving the strong support of Turkey. This situation raises the question of whether Turkey’s soft power policy has been efficient. In this paper, I will try to measure the success of Turkey’s soft power activities by conducting case studies on Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan. I will argue that although Turkey’s soft power activities have yielded positive results in economic relations, Turkey’s intrusive policies and the democratic backslide in the past decade have significantly damaged its image and rendered its soft...Show moreTurkey’s foreign policy began to increasingly rely on soft power with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) coming to power in 2002. Economic development and political reforms achieved in Turkey provided the AKP government the means to use the existing soft power instruments and create new ones to pursue its foreign policy goals. Despite the use of extensive soft power resources, Turkey’s foreign policy has been facing many challenges, even in the countries which have been receiving the strong support of Turkey. This situation raises the question of whether Turkey’s soft power policy has been efficient. In this paper, I will try to measure the success of Turkey’s soft power activities by conducting case studies on Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan. I will argue that although Turkey’s soft power activities have yielded positive results in economic relations, Turkey’s intrusive policies and the democratic backslide in the past decade have significantly damaged its image and rendered its soft power activities less effective.Show less

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The Efficacy of Turkey’s Soft Power Activities Under the Justice and Development Party’s Rule