Soft power and Turkey`s foreign policy toward the Middle Eastern countries, (2002 - 2011)

Abstract

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.