Turkey’s Soft Power: An Unpolished Gem or an Elusive Mirage?

The article reviews the relevance of soft power for the case of Turkey, and assesses whether Turkey does have meaningful soft power potential, or whether such a potential is likely to remain elusive for the time being. Recent changes in Turkey are reviewed in terms of their affect on Turkey’s soft power potential. Concrete steps in operationalizing Turkey’s soft power, as well possible challenges, are discussed. The article argues that EU accession provides a virtuous circle of feedback for enhancing Turkey’s soft power, but maintains that Turkish political class and foreign policy elite becoming cognizant of this potential would be the single most important step forward. The article concludes that Turkey has very important soft power assets. Proper deployment of these assets is anything but automatic, and Turkey’s society and political elites must realize that this potential exists, and conduct themselves accordingly.