Cultural diplomacy as a foreign policy tool of turkey: the case of Turksoy

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Turkey

Approval Date: 2019

Student: Salim Ezer

Supervisor: PINAR KÖKSAL

Abstract:

This thesis analyzes the International Organization of Turkic Culture (Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı, TURKSOY) as a significant cultural diplomacy organization established in 1993 upon the signing of its founding agreement by the Ministers of Culture of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey in the post-Soviet era in order to foster relations among these Turkic countries. The main research question of this study is how effective TURKSOY is as an institution of cultural diplomacy used as a tool of soft power politics in Turkish foreign policy.