Turkey owes its increasing profile and visibility not only to its proactive foreign policy and unprecedented economic success in recent years, but also to the activities of “non-state” actors across a wide spectrum. Turkish intellectuals, TV shows, aid organizations and the Hizmet movement have become important components of the country's soft power, whether they aim for it or not.
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An audience of almost 70,000 people watched various outstanding performances in the finale of the 10th International Turkish Language Olympiad at the Türk Telekom Arena, while foreign students bid farewell to friends in tears, in this June 17 2012 file photo. (Photo: Sunday’s Zaman, Turgut Engin)
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A growing number of Turkish citizens go abroad as a result of the rise in society's overall prosperity and the integration of the country with the world -- and what these travelers witness is a growing interest in anything related to Turkey. More and more media outlets report from and about Turkey, works of Turkish directors are awarded in international film festivals and Turkish TV shows are imported not only to Middle Eastern countries, but to countries that have a different culture, like Sweden.
In 2006, novelist Orhan Pamuk became the first Turkish citizen to receive a Nobel Prize. Turkish authors with books on display in the Western world are becoming more common. Turkish schools opened abroad by volunteer Turkish entrepreneurs have begun to contribute to Turkey's positive image independent of the state.
As Antalya International University's Dr. Tarık Oğuzlu noted, there is no coercion or incentive in soft power, just the force of attraction. In this sense, non-state elements like those mentioned above are very likely to contribute to the soft power of a state. The US is a hegemon not just because of its hard and soft power, but also because of its ability to attract people to its country, universities, movies, TV shows and music. Today, American TV shows are the common dominator of many TV stations all around the world. Associate Professor Şaban Kardaş from TOBB University says that “TV shows are among elements that facilitate a viable atmosphere for soft power.”
Turkish TV series adding to Turkey's attractiveness
It has been regular news that Turkish TV shows have presented an attractive picture of the country and encouraged tourists to visit, particularly those from Middle Eastern countries. News organizations like The National and Gulf News have said that Arabs are charmed by the liberal lifestyle depicted in the TV shows of a Muslim society. Household names have been created of Turkish stars, like the young, blond Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, referred to as the “Brad Pitt of the Middle East” and whose face decorates billboards in Beirut and Dubai.
One of the most popular Turkish TV Shows in the region is “Kurtlar Vadisi” (Valley of the Wolves), which has a strong nationalistic tone. The producer of the show, Bahadır Özdener from Pana Film, confirmed that “Kurtlar Vadisi” is their best-selling production. For him, the rising quality of the production as well as a plot that kept up with political developments is the main reason for the interest in the show. People from the Middle East, the Balkans, the Turkic republics and Turkey made up its most loyal viewers.
Özdener believes İstanbul is without a doubt one reason why Turkish shows receive great interest from abroad. He thinks neighboring countries with similar cultures especially wonder about this city that is a connecting point for so many civilizations. These shows definitely contribute to the politics and positive image of Turkey, he said. “We try to fix the wrong perceptions of Turkey by means of these shows,” said Özdener, adding that Turkey now “portrays an image that is much more dynamic and modern, yet loyal to its traditions.”
Mert Uzcan from Global Agency exports the popular TV series “Muhteşem Yüzyıl” (The Magnificent Centuryto 45 countries, 22 of which are in the Middle East. The series itself led to a heated debate in Turkey when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the show for distorting historical facts about the Ottoman dynasty and Suleiman the Magnificent, but the show remains popular. Uzcan says Turkey has become an exporter of TV productions in the last decade due to the quality of its shows and common elements that the stories share with the areas that are mainly interested in the series. However, there are countries as far as Cambodia where the company's projects are exported.
As far as the contribution of these shows to Turkey's soft power, Uzcan said that “'made in Turkey' has become a concept that everyone runs across,” which, according to him, “creates interest in and admiration of the Turkish culture, history and geography.” He believes that the number of tourists visiting Turkey has risen thanks to the country's many TV series.
Economic instruments contribute less to ideal definition of soft power
Parallel to its economic growth, Turkey's development aid and loans extended have also risen considerably. For example, “Turkey has become an emerging donor country with humanitarian and development assistance exceeding $2 billion last year,” says Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru.
Koru also lists the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA), the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities and the Yunus Emre Institute as “important institutions contributing significantly to Turkish foreign policy and Turkey's soft power.”
Although there is a belief that economic activities add to soft power, in its ideal form, economic instruments provide less soft power, Oğuzlu states, because they involve the promise of benefits in return for cooperation. Similarly, Kardaş also says that “development aid is an important liberal tool that states use, but what TİKA does is not soft power.”
Although funded by a government institution, the growing number of scholarships that are granted to non-Turkish citizens is considered a tool of soft power. The head of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, Kemal Yurtnaç, says Turkey currently provides scholarships to 11,500 students from 140 countries. Each year 4,000 students, mostly from Central Asia, the Balkans and Africa, are added to this number which will “serve as a bridge between Turkey and their countries” according to Yurtnaç. He also notes that the Turkish diaspora has a total of 5,000 civil society organizations. However, Yurtnaç says that they are not yet able to rally around a common cause and values. Commenting on the role of the Turkish diaspora, Koru says, “Six million Turkish citizens living abroad is an important aspect of Turkey's soft power.”
For Dr. Ömer Taşpınar from the Brookings Institution, economic success, institutionalization of social and economic services, secularism and democracy, pursuit of EU membership and Muslim identity combined are the elements of Turkey's soft power.
Although relatively recently established in 2007 as a public foundation, the Yunus Emre Institute delivers cultural services abroad with the aim of teaching Turkish to foreigners. Currently operating in 34 countries, the Yunus Emre Institute acts in a fashion similar to the British Council or the Goethe Institute. The institute, which also seeks to promote Turkish culture, lobbied for the inclusion of Turkish among elective language courses in Bosnia and Georgia in primary schools. Although mostly found in the Balkans and Europe, Yunus Emre Institute offices also exist in places like South Africa and Japan.
The president of the Yunus Emre Institute, Hayati Develi, says they have been addressing a demand that already exists among foreigners to learn Turkish. He believes soft power involves cultural activities, as they are more long-lasting than political and economic activities. “We are going to create a larger group of people who can understand Turkey directly through their proficiency in Turkish,” Develi adds. One of their goals is to change the negative image of Turkey in certain European countries by means of introducing a different image of Turkey. As far as the Balkans and the Middle East are concerned, Develi believes that Turkey was disconnected from these regions for over a century, and he says that they want to revive the “forgotten ties.”
Hizmet movement an element of soft power with more impact than diplomacy
In recent years, it has been difficult not to realize the domestic and global impact of a voluntary civic movement that was born in Turkey: the Hizmet (service) movement. In very general terms, it is a loose network of volunteers and civil society organizations who promote educational activities along with dialogue among those of different faiths. The Hizmet movement is inspired by the ideas of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Schools opened and operated by Turkish entrepreneurs in even the most remote parts of the world have become centers of attraction because of their contribution to Turkey's visibility. Although acting entirely independently from the state, Turkish schools have turned into an important element of the country's profile in the world. Yeşil says there are approximately 1,000 schools all around the world; neither he nor anyone else has a current figure. He estimates that the number of cultural centers, dialogue centers, language schools and women's and business organizations could be as high as 1,000.
Among various Hizmet institutions, the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) stands out as the representative of the movement, since Gülen is the honorary president of the foundation. The president of the GYV, Mustafa Yeşil, calls the movement an example of soft power that “directs its power to actions and an understanding that places the human being in the center.”
Although the Hizmet movement has been active on a global scale in the last two decades, Yeşil says the movement has been working all over Turkey with its volunteer workforce for over 40 years. According to him, the movement's projects in the areas of education, dialogue, healthcare, solidarity and cooperation in the business world “are embraced and supported by people from different countries, languages, religions and ethnic backgrounds.”
Yeşil says the Hizmet movement enriches the world, adding the “beauty of different geographies” as it “shares Turkey's diverse cultural richness with others.” He says that “the importance of dialogue and close ties is evident in public diplomacy, and oftentimes [these ties] have a great and lasting impact.”
While acknowledging the contribution of the Hizmet movement in “bringing Turkey to rest of the world” and vice versa, Yeşil emphasized that it is based on volunteer action. “Due to its nature, it is not possible for the Hizmet movement to turn into a political entity,” says Yeşil as he adds that the Hizmet movement is “careful about maintaining an equal distance from all political structures.”
TİKA more visible as state tool of soft power
The Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA), a state institution that operates under the Prime Ministry, has become more and more effective in the last decade through its projects, mainly in the Balkans, Africa and Central Asia.
The president of TİKA, Dr. Serdar Çam, told Today's Zaman that Turkey's “increased activism” in recent years resulted in a string of successes for TİKA as well. “We have experienced transformation and change and try to contribute to it,” stated Çam, talking about TİKA projects undertaken from Somalia to Cuba and Djibouti via its 34 offices in 31 countries as of March 2013.
While he noted that TİKA's operations in Africa grew 100 percent last year, Çam underlined that Turkey took on these projects with a humanitarian purpose. “These steps were not consciously taken to increase Turkey's soft power,” said Çam although he agreed that TİKA has become a tool of soft power for the state.
Referring to the massive Turkish humanitarian assistance to Somalia starting from last year, Çam said Turkey went to Somalia due to its hunger problems despite the great security threats there. According to Çam, because Turkey does not go to these countries with calculated plans for their natural resources or foreign trade, Turkey's sincerity is felt and appreciated. He says there are requests from heads of state in other countries to the Turkish government to open TİKA offices in their countries. He notes that a TİKA office was opened in Somalia even before a Turkish embassy was established there. According to Çam, due to TİKA's successful projects in Somalia, the Somali president gave the Turkish example of help to Westerners when they asked for a model.
“We are trying to reflect the ‘foundation' and philanthropic culture of our people accurately,” said Çam, adding that they are appreciated by both Muslims and non-Muslims in Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. In the Sandzak province of Serbia, TİKA built housing for the Bosnian and Serb disaster victims and they eventually became neighbors, he said.
TİKA does not limit its projects only to countries where there is a Turkish cultural or historic heritage, stated Çam, adding that “our heritage is a brand that we see wherever we go.” Giving examples of their projects in remote parts of the world, Çam spoke about the agricultural training that TİKA gives to potato farmers in Peru and the Turkology department in which they invested in Cuba. “We will open a stadium in the Comoros Islands,” he said, adding that they are waiting for on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's availability to schedule the opening.
Published on Today's Zaman, 03 April 2013, Wednesday
Read first part of the analysis here (external link)
