The example of turkey scholarship programme in the context of Turkish public diplomacy

The concept of power in international relations is being transformed by many factors including technological developments in international environment, democratization, and globalization. This transformation welcomed new concepts such as soft power, which is regarded as the new dimension of power. The concept of soft power, which aims to persuade the target audience rather than applying pressure or threat, is becoming an important tool of foreign policy in the 21st century. States, therefore, desire to accumulate and utilize soft power in order to create a positive impact on the target audience. The policies implemented for this purpose are usually called 'public diplomacy'. Public diplomacy is generally considered as sort of activities aimed at directing the international public opinion in their favor, and building a positive perception about their countries. Public diplomacy practices are of crucial importance for countries in order to establish positive communication channels with the outside world. With the advancement of communication technologies, the increasing communication in the international environment becomes an important policy tool in order to explain the foreign policies of the states and to convince the international public opinion towards these policies. It is usually stated in academic circles that Turkey has stepped up its public diplomacy efforts since the 2000s. Public diplomacy policies are implemented with the coordination of various agencies in Turkey. One of these institutions is the Precidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). This agency carries out public diplomacy activities for Turks and all related communities living abroad. Specifically, the subject of this study is Turkey Scholarship Program that is implemented for funding the education of international students by YTB. Turkey Scholarship aims to providing scholarship support for international students and to build good relations through these students between Turkey and countries and cultures that they represent. This study examines the relationship between public diplomacy and soft power concepts in international relations, and the role of Turkey Sholarship Program in Turkish public diplomacy practices. The study further aims to evaluate the impact of Turkey Scholarship in terms of its soft power potential for Turkey through student interviews. For this purpose, the research utilizes the social constructionist approach of the international relations theory.