The Role of Turkish Soft Powerin the Middle East After 2002

Abstract

The concept of power has evolved throughout history from its traditional notion as a military-economic force, i.e., hard power, to its modern conception of the ability to persuade and influence as soft power to achieve the goals and interests of the international actor within the international system. The use of force has long been legitimate in international relations, but over time it has become constrained by high costs and the spread of globalization. The Turkish Justice and Development Party realized this equation after coming to power in 2002, especially since Turkey had used hard power in its foreign policy over the past 90 years and lost its regional environment. It therefore adopted soft power in its domestic and foreign policies based on Turkey's sources of this power and starting from Ahmet Davutoğlu's perspective of strategic depth to find a regional status based on a dual identity: Turkish and Islamic until 2011, the beginning of the so-called "Arab revolutions," when Turkey worked to balance between these two forces in order to achieve its influence and national interests in the region. This study delves into the Turkish strategic use of soft power vocabulary in the Middle East region, which will shed light on its concept as a definition, framing, application, and impact.