The role of Somalia in Turkey's foreign aid and competitive identity

Turkey is in a period when she seeks a more efficient way of using her soft power. Based on the ties between foreign aid and soft power, this work aims to determine whether Turkey's reputation is strengthening in parallel. The special role that she assumes, her capacity of aid and the generous identity that she adopts, are the main axes of Turkey's soft power. As a matter of fact, Turkey is on her way to create a significant difference and a dominant identity in this field, in accordance with the competitive identity notion coined by Simon Anholt. Turkey aims to leave a permanent mark in the countries which she delivers aid to. Somalia, where Turkey's visibility intensifies especially since 2011, is one of the most tangible examples. Hence, Somalia was chosen as the case country. In this context, Turkey's soft power elements, foreign aid institutions and activities have been analyzed, as well as the declarations of Somali officials and civilians, foreign actors active in the foreign aid system, and the articles written by foreign media about Turkish aid activities and Turkey's presence in Africa, particularly in Somalia. The purpose is to reveal the opinion of non-Turkish community about Turkey-Somali aid relations and to measure Turkey's reputation in order to understand whether she has been able to create a competitive identity. As a result, regarding these positive and negative remarks on Turkey, the assets and drawbacks of the country have been evaluated and suggestions have been made for an eventual strategy.