The activities of the Turkish cooperation and coordination agencyin Afghanistan as a type of humanitarian diplomacy and its role inTurkey-Afghanistan relations

This study was prepared to determine what kind of socio-cultural and economic activities TİKA, as Turkey's most important humanitarian diplomacy practitioner, has in Afghanistan in the context of public relations. The responsibility undertaken by TİKA, a humanitarian diplomacy practitioner that has recently emerged as an interdisciplinary concept and on which new academic studies have begun, in the geography of Afghanistan with its joint research field of international relations and public relations, has been examined in the light of published official data. In the international system that emerged after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, the necessity of transition to an institutional structure was felt more clearly, especially in the eastern geographies. In such a conjuncture, Türkiye developed a strategic foreign policy concept for the Turkish and Muslim communities in Eurasia. As a matter of fact, it has become essential to identify and research the cultural riches that contribute to Turkey's own soft power potential and to strengthen foreign policy instruments in the Afghanistan geography by establishing a common bond. The question of how this process contributes to Turkish foreign policy can be explained, in part, by examining the concept of "soft power". Based on this idea, the analysis of the perspective put forward by Joseph S. Ney, who introduced the concept of soft power to the literature, is very important. As a matter of fact, in today's international system, successful states strive to increase their activities by paying more attention to the place, influence and importance of soft power organs in international relations. Like these countries, Turkey uses its soft power element in the Afghanistan region on behalf of the country's interests. The concept of "soft power", which is frequently mentioned in the discipline of international relations, is discussed in this study by taking into account Turkey's historical and cultural background and existing elements and potential. In other words, this study seeks an answer to the question under what international conditions soft power policy is carried out towards Afghanistan in Turkish foreign policy. In the light of international changes and regional developments between 2004 and 2014, Turkey's soft power activities in Afghanistan in general and TIKA activities in particular were examined using qualitative research methods.