Public diplomacy and soft power of Turkey in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Today modern Turkey has become the influential regional player, without whose participation it is impossible to imagine a solution to many complicated military and political problems in the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Mediterranean and other areas. This trend is especially noticeable in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, around Karabakh, in Cyprus, etc. In turn, the new status implies more active foreign policy on the part of official Ankara, which is what Turkish government is doing. In this context the republic seeks to strengthen its geopolitical positions both in individual regions and in the world as a whole. One example of such approach is Ankara’s lobbying for UN reform. In particular, we are talking about possible expansion of the Security Council by new permanent members. Naturally, the country expects to get a place in this structure in the event of its reorganization. On the other hand, from the point of view of practical steps to implement its foreign policy priorities, Turkey in recent years has been very actively using so-called public diplomacy. It is important to emphasize that this term is closely related to the concept of «soft power». Indeed, in general, the popularity and image of the republic in the world is constantly growing. For example, this is facilitated by the spread of Turkish cultural products, mainly the film industry. As is known, Turkey is the second largest exporter of TV series in the world (www.hurriyetdailynews.com, 2017). Such result was made possible also thanks to state support. As a result, many experts note the increased interest of tourists with regard to the country. In view of the foregoing, the public diplomacy of Turkey in Kazakhstan seems interesting. Moreover, the Central Asian region and Kazakhstan in particular are important direction for Ankara’s foreign policy. Especially since the Turkic factor is the driving force here. Against this backdrop, its need to say that at the moment elements of Turkish public diplomacy can be seen in Kazakhstan. This applies to both cultural products, mainly serials, and the schools mentioned above. In addition, the Turkish government is trying to use other tools of public diplomacy. Given that the two countries are in strategic relations, the issue of public diplomacy of Turkey in Kazakhstan is highly relevant.Key words: Turkey, public diplomacy, soft power, Kazakhstan, foreign policy.