Ekonomik diplomasi ve Türkiye'nin ekonomik diplomasi uygulamaları oyun sahası olarak: Afrika

Economic diplomacy, which has started to emerge as a separate research branch since the 1990s, it has made significant progress both theoretically and practically in a short time. This study, which is about economic diplomacy, consists of two main parts. The first part of the study covers the literature study on economic diplomacy. Within this framework, different approaches to economic diplomacy, its development in academic literature, the functioning of economic diplomacy, its actors, tools, aims, conceptual and theoretical framework, economic diplomacy models and economic diplomacy practices of different countries have been revealed, the functioning scheme and context of economic diplomacy have been explained in detail. The problematic on which the first part of the study is built is the context in which economic diplomacy works and which economic diplomacy instruments are effective. In this direction, the effectiveness of different economic diplomacy actors and instruments has been revealed by both analytical and empirical research. The second part, which forms the basis of the study, covers Turkey's economic diplomacy approach and Turkey's economic diplomacy strategy towards Africa. The first section includes Turkey's economic diplomacy structure. Since Turkey does not have an official understanding of economic diplomacy, Turkey's economic diplomacy approach, goals, actors and tools have been constructed by adhering to the model of Okana-Heijmans and expanded by articulating different inputs. While constructing Turkey's economic diplomacy structure, soft power elements were emphasized. The second section includes Turkey's economic diplomacy strategy towards Africa. Africa's dominance on the world stage in the last two decades, the increasing number of emerging economies in the region, and finally entering a new era with the AfCFTA, which came into force in 2021, are the main reasons for choosing Africa. The analysis realized in the second part of the study, the time interval was determined as the effective date of AfCFTA. In this context, Turkey's economic diplomacy approaches and effectiveness towards Africa were discussed. The section in question is based on the question of whether Turkey has a comprehensive economic diplomacy model and how cost-effective the economic relations with Africa are. At this point, the main hypotheses of the study are that Turkey does not have an effective economic diplomacy approach, economic relations are mostly conducted with a state-oriented approach, and the economic diplomacy towards Africa is insufficient. A mixed methodology including analytical and empirical elements was followed throughout the study. The main findings of the study, which was revealed by making use of econometric metadata as well as analytical analyzes, are as follows: 1. Turkey does not have a comprehensive economic diplomacy strategy for Africa. 2. African countries do not have sufficient institutional infrastructure and political stability, so economic relations are shaped around political preferences rather than economic laws. The preferences of the political elites determine the general economic approach, in this sense, politics plays the role of the carrier of trade. 3. Africa is one of the richest regions in the world with its natural resources, underground and aboveground riches and large agricultural lands. However, it does not have an effective processing capacity due to political, technical and human inadequacies. Africa's natural wealth and poor governance attract foreign countries to the region. Therefore, Africa is a very dynamic market and circulation is very high. Unlike countries where institutional capacity is high, such as Canada, Switzerland, and Germany, it is necessary to be constantly visible in order to be an active player in Africa. In this sense, the most effective economic diplomacy tools for the region are high-level visits, summits, economic forums, B2B meetings and diplomatic missions. 4. In addition to its cultural, social and historical identity, Turkey is sympathetically welcomed by the people of the region because it is not an imperialist state. Turkey, which supports the current positive reputation with effective soft power elements, implements an economic diplomacy strategy with Business Play end output in the region. The practices implemented within the framework of Turkey's humanitarian and entrepreneurial diplomacy are also supported by western values such as democracy, liberal economics and the rule of law, thus recreating its own identity in the eyes of the region. 5. Turkey acts with a win-win strategy for Africa. Turkey follows a mixed but integrated strategy for the region that includes public-private and NGOs. The state focuses on political and economic relations, the private sector focuses only on economic relations, and NGOs focus only on humanitarian aid. 6. The main channel that Turkey uses while constructing its economic relations with the region is investments, but the private sector does not act alone. In the continent, where politics is the key to the economic transmission mechanism, ambassadors and trade advisers are more effective than businessmen. For this reason, most African business council meetings are held with the participation of ambassadors and trade advisors.