Russian soft power in Turkey

This study aims to reveal Russia's influence in Turkey by considering the evolution of Turkish-Russian relations from the perception of enemy to a strategic partnership within the context of soft power. In this context, the study discusses how the concept of soft power is perceived by Russian foreign policy makers, and how and through which institutions it is implemented in Turkey. Within the framework of this discussion, official documents, reports and statistics published by the relevant institutions as well as the statements and interviews of the Russian political elites, have been analyzed using the process tracing method. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with officials of Russian soft power institutions operating in Turkey. In line with the findings obtained from the field, it has been found out that Russia has built up its soft power in Turkey from the 2000s to the present both at the theoretical and the practical levels. Within this process, the relationship between the two countries has evolved from an image of mutual enemies to that of a strategic partnership, particularly owing to close relationship, at the level of leaders. This close relationship at the level of leaders has also increased the effectiveness of Russian soft power in Turkey. On the other hand, Russia's soft power policy in Turkey lacks a long-term, systematic and planned organization. In addition, Russian soft power differs from Joseph Nye's conceptualization of soft power given its ideological foundations such as the Russian world and sovereign democracy, as well as its anti-Western and local discourses.