Turkish foreign policy faced a paradigmatic transformation in foreign policy as well as domestic politics with respect to mentality, identity, style and rhetoric under Justice and Development Party (JDP-Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi-Ak Party) rule. This study also evaluates Turkey’s Middle East policy within the framework of public diplomacy under JDP governments. The ruling party initiated its Middle Eastern policy by highlighting its Muslim identity. Islamic identity opened space for Turkey in its Middle East policy on one hand, while it built the cultural foundation of racing to the top with a Turkey-inspired Islamic model through the country story rhetoric of the public diplomacy in the Muslim world. This public diplomacy and soft power was the most authentic aspect of the AKP government in foreign policy and implemented successfully between 2003-2011 in general and the soft power momentum of Turkey took place particularly between 2005-2010. However, as of 2011, that is with the Arab Spring process, the relations particularly with Syria came to a point of conflict from the soft power peak and it ended up with the fall of soft power in the Turkish foreign policy.
Author(s): Muharrem EKSI
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 133
City: Saarbrücken, Germany
Author Biography 4
Part I 5
Introduction: Paradigmatic Transformation in Turkish Foreign Policy 5
New Foreign Policy Understanding: Soft Power and Public Diplomacy 11
Public Diplomacy and Soft Power 12
Part II 15
New Soft Power Instruments in the Turkish Foreign Policy 15
Reorganization of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs 16
Prime Ministry Office of Public Diplomacy 17
Yunus Emre Institute and Cultural Diplomacy 18
TİKA: Policy of Wielding Soft Power through External Aids 24
Diyanet: the Development of Turkish-inspired Model and the Ambition of Becoming the leader of Muslim world with Hadith Project 26
The Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities 28
Part III 31
Marketing of Foreign Policy 31
Discourse of Central Country 32
Discourse of Regional Superpower and Global Power 32
Discourse of Multidimensional Foreign Policy System 34
The Nation Branding of Wise Country 35
The Nation Branding of Donor Country 35
Discourse of Rhythmic Diplomacy 36
Part IV 39
Soft Power Policies 40
Policy of Zero Problem with Neighbours 40
Armenian Initiative: Normalization Diplomacy 42
The Initiative of Alliance of Civilizations 45
Part V 48
Public Diplomacy Approach: Identity-Image Politics 49
JDP Identity: A Country Story over the JDP model 52
JDP’s New Approach to Engagement in the Middle East Policy 54
Islamization Debate in the Turkish Foreign Policy 58
Beyond the Shift of Axis Debate 62
Part VI 66
Arab Spring and the Fall of Soft Power 67
The Fall of Rhetoric of Model Country 68
From Central Country to Front Country 70
From Soft Power Image to Perception of Sectarian (Islamist-Sunni) Foreign Policy 71
CONCLUSION 72
