Soft power in Türkey's Africa policy: The case of Cameroon

After the assumption of power by AK PARTİ in 2002, Turkish foreign policy experienced a dramatic shift in the domestic and international arena. Turkey shifted its foreign policy towards Africa and in 2005, Turkey declared the year the "Year of Africa" and three years later, the first Turkey-Africa cooperation summit attended by forty-nine African countries was held in Istanbul. These two events have shown the desire of the Turkish authorities to direct Turkish foreign policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa. This may not be surprising given the fact that Turkey has expanded its geopolitical influence over the past decade by joining various multilateral organizations such as the United Nations Security Council. Moreover, the shift to Cameroon is a new step. Turkey has resorted to various forms of power to show itself on the international stage. Soft power is one of the tools that Turkey has used in recent years in Africa and Cameroon. However, variety of foreign policy instruments including educational scholarships, humanitarian aid, development and economic cooperation has been pursued by Turkey in Cameroon as a tool of soft power. The Turkish government has rebuilt and positioned the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and Humanitarian Relief Foundation IHH etc. in order to create a positive brand (image) of Turkey abroad, in accordance with recent efforts to construct a comprehensive soft power dimension in the chronicles of its foreign policy. These both organizations have contributed in the development and capacity building of Cameroonians by giving them educational scholarships, trainings and establishing school and training centers which is AK PARTİ's new Turkish foreign policy based primarily on regional engagement and international openings, as a key component of the party's soft power strategy