Digital public relations and the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs' social media discourse on the Israel–Gaza process: An analysis based on Toulmin and Entman models

This study aims to examine the public diplomacy activities conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey on social media platforms between 2023 and 2025 from a digital public relations perspective. The research aims to examine the social discourses generated during the Israel-Gaza conflict, which were evaluated using qualitative analysis methods based on Stephen Toulmin's Argumentation Model and Robert Entman's Framing Theory. This study comprehensively analyzed content from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as their representation in national and international media. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' social media statements covering the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 are presented in an intellectual and persuasive manner, generally in line with Toulmin's Argumentation Model. At the same time, it has been determined that Türkiye's foreign policy discourse, while having a more "normative discourse with high validity" in 2023, has transformed into a structure that includes a "strategic language" with more "conditional validity" in 2024 and 2025. Public diplomacy, framed in Entman's Framing Theory, appears to generate powerful narratives based on usable, normative foundations. When viewed through the Entman Framework, the 2023 discourse is shaped by the framework of "moral leadership," while the discourses for 2024 and 2025 stand out with the theme of "solution-oriented diplomatic pressure." This shift demonstrates Türkiye's shift in discourse strategy from normative diplomatic discourse to multilateral and pragmatic framing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This unified analytical framework demonstrates that the Ministry's digital diplomacy activities not only address crises but also explore the pursuit of international legitimacy, global identity management, and ethical narrative production, both theoretically and practically. Therefore, it provides a strong methodological reference for comprehensive solutions in media and public diplomacy processes. The research results indicate that Türkiye's digital public diplomacy is crisis-focused, reactive, and based on emotional persuasion. The Ministry's social media services utilize unified and unbroken communication to increase usability and visibility in the international arena. This ensures the rapid and effective maintenance of crisis communication through digital platforms, while shaping the perception of cultural and political differences among national and international actors. The study offers new perspectives on the strengthening characteristics of digital public relations practices in public diplomacy and how digital media content is structured in both domestic and international publics. Furthermore, recommendations for Türkiye's internal digital developments are developed, and the contributions of communication that combines crisis outbreaks and framing are detailed. Thus, the study contributes theoretically to the digital diplomacy literature and reveals the details of improving the functioning of public diplomacy practices in the digitalizing world. As a result, it has been concluded in this study that the digital public relations of individuals, especially on social media, and the public diplomacy information conducted by states in times of crisis contribute to comprehensive analyses and provide significant benefits in the creation of digital communication methods. Keywords: Digital Public Relations, Argumentation, Framing, Social Media, Foreing Policy