Scholarship programs as a soft power tool in UK foreign policy

Power is one of the main research topics in international relations. It is expressed as the potential for material and moral influence to protect the interests of a state and to ensure that its claims are accepted by other states or societies. Traditionally, the concept of power was shaped by factors such as a country's history, culture, geography, military, human and economic capabilities; but it showed that the two great wars of the early 20th century brought destruction on both sides. As a result, different studies have been carried out both in practice and in the literature, and a conceptual approach called soft power has emerged. To define soft power, it can be defined as the ability of a country to make itself a center of attraction with its political values, cultural structure and foreign policy. For this reason, states want to use their soft power to create a positive impression on the target audience. Policies made for this purpose are called public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is generally seen as activities aimed at attracting the international public opinion of the countries that support them and creating a positive perception towards their countries. Public diplomacy activities are very important for countries to establish positive communication relations with the outside world. One of the most important activities of public diplomacy with lasting results is the state-sponsored scholarship programs for international student mobility. In the study, after the soft power and public diplomacy concepts were discussed, the soft power and public diplomacy activities carried out in the foreign policy of the United Kingdom were examined through scholarship programs. The aim of the study is to show how the Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth scholarship programs serve national interests and purposes in the foreign policy of the United Kingdom. Keywords: Soft Power, Public Diplomacy, Scholarship Programs, Chevening, Marshall, Commonwealth, United Kingdom