Foreign aids as soft power factor on Turkish foreign policy: Example of Somalia

Power is the basic concept that displays international relations. With the changes of the international relations and the content of the determinative power on international relations, the quality of power has changed through time. In the process of globalization, the nation states which had to share their power with non-state formations got weaker. Therewithal the phenomenal improvement on communication technologies and the social change of western democracies causes, the increasing the cost of classic power practices and consequently soft power practices gained importance. Foreign aids, an important foreign policy initiative that started institutionalise with Marshall Plan after World War II, become prominent as an effective soft power factor that recourse by 21th century's nation states to achieve their aims. Turkey has implanted understanding of a multilateral active policy pursuant to structural changes on international system right after the Cold War. To corroborate the relations with the African countries which Turkey has relations with because of in consequences of this understanding foreign aids have an important position as a soft power factor. Turkey practice the foreign aids disciplined efficiently and productively with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). In this paper, which aims to propound the importance of foreign aids as soft power factor on Turkish Foreign Policy, mentioned Turkey's Africa initiative TİKA's Somalia investments as the research subject. In this context, the first part has reviewed evolution of power to soft power and institutionalise process of foreign aids as a foreign policy factor. In the second part, in which the paper considers changes on Turkish Foreign Policy after the Cold War and Turkey's organizations as soft power source, TİKA has reviewed as Turkey's foreign aid organization. In the third part with the impact of Internal and external dynamics and actualise within the scope of a program Turkey's Africa initiative has reviewed. And in the last part Turkey-Somalia relations and TİKA's Somalia investments have been evaluated as pursuant to Turkey's soft power practices. As a result of these considerations, soft power practices implement as the result of multilateral active foreign policy to carry Turkey's political and commercial activity out of the nearby geography to ensure that soft power practices has positive contribution for Turkish Foreign Policy