The fluctuation in Turkey’s stance towards the Palestinian cause has major implications for the country's diplomacy with Arab publics. This paper analyses the relationship between Turkey’s changing position on Palestine and its ‘soft power’ potential in the Arab region. The analysis has two components: the first component follows the scholarly literature on Turkish soft power, and the second component follows the role of public diplomacy in Turkish soft power.
Focusing on the post-2002 period in which Turkey’s position on Palestine became more influential, the literature on Turkish soft power in this context pays special attention to Ankara’s role as a ‘mediator’ in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Within this role, Turkey adopted an approach that relied heavily on the concept of ‘structural prevention’ through the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchange’s Industry for Peace Initiative (TOBB-BIS). Another element of Ankara’s approach in the early 2000s was humanitarian aid, which is part of nation branding by institutions like the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). However, the risk associated with Turkey’s mediator status started to increase as its relations with Hamas strengthened. At the same time, a larger portion of Ankara’s official development aid to Palestine was allocated to projects in Gaza. Some scholars argue that this evolution of Turkish foreign policy was a result of the Europeanisation process in early 2010s. But there was already a desecuritisation of Ankara’s Middle Easy policy in the late 2000s, which involved several initiatives for ‘peace talks’ with states that Turkey had long considered enemies.
My paper explores changes in the official Turkish position over the past decade, including the most recent turn in 2022, and how they reflect on the state's soft power resources. By establishing the relationship between these two factors, the aim of this study is to demonstrate how the state would need to adapt its policies on Palestine to attract the support of wider segments in Arab societies.
International Relations/Affairs
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