Soft power in the context of Turkey-Africa relations

Foreign policy is referred to as the governing behaviors and attitudes that regulate the political, social and economic relations of a state in international relations. Today, with globalization showing its influence in every field, soft power has become an indispensable argument of foreign policy. Introducing the concept of Soft Power to the literature by Josep S. NYE has won. And among the sources of soft power, culture holds the lead by emphasizing the title Dec. Within this framework, Turkey, with its deep-rooted historical background, cultural accumulation and wealth, has a soft power potential and sphere of influence from the Balkans to Central Asia, from the Middle East to Africa. When the literature studies are examined, it is seen that the studies involving Turkey's soft power and policy applications are few in number. The potential, elements and effects of the soft power policy, which has gained momentum since the 2000s, are gaining importance in terms of making visible what they bring to Turkey and contributing to Turkish foreign policy. While Turkey-Africa relations are based on a deep-rooted history, it is also known that there is a shortage of African experts in academia. It will be appropriate to increase the work in this direction. In our thesis, first of all, the definition and classification of the concept of power within the scope of international relations, the transformation of power and the globalization effect will be discussed. In the second part, Turkish foreign policy and periods after the Cold War, soft power elements, potential and resources are explained, and in the third part, Turkey's institutions and organizations that build soft power will be examined. In the last section of our study, the projects implemented by institutions and NGOs from theory to practice examples of African geoplitics, gains and advantages within the scope of Turkey-Africa relations will be mentioned and the projects implemented by institutions and NGOs will be included.