Abstract
The importance of digital diplomacy, which we encounter as public diplomacy activities on digital platforms, has been recognized more and more, and it has been actively used by many countries through applications such as social media accounts and websites. In the light of this information, the aim of the study is to reveal the ways in which the ministry of sports, which is responsible for sports and athletes, which increases the awareness and prestige of countries in national and international platforms, uses websites as a digital diplomacy tool. The official websites of the Ministries of Sports of Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, which were determined as the sample of the study, were analyzed with the categorical content analysis method, and the similarities and differences between the use of the websites of the ministries were determined.
TopWhen we look at the word diplomacy etymologically, it is seen that it comes from the Greek word “diploma”. It got this name due to the fact that the documents belonging to the state during the Ancient Greek and Roman Empires were folded like diplomas. Over time, it has begun to be used in the sense of the science of examining documents. It gained the meaning of “conducting international affairs” today, when it was used by British Statesman Edmund Burke in 1796 (Baştan and Karagül, 2021:779). Since then, many definitions of diplomacy have been made. These definitions, which are the product of different perspectives, were actually made over two periods; old diplomacy and new diplomacy. The period defined as old diplomacy covers the period until the end of World War I. The process until the end of the Cold War in World War I was defined as new diplomacy (Acar, 2006:417). Over time, this foreign policy tool has given birth to the concept of public diplomacy as an activity to communicate not only with political representatives but also with citizens of the country. Public diplomacy, whose history dates back to the cold war period, is a style of public communication made to influence and change the feelings and thoughts of the people determined as the target audience in any country in the world (Manheim, 1990:4). In the new diplomacy period, that is, in public diplomacy, soft power has been realized. In other words, in classical diplomacy, strategy has become important by utilizing the power of political values, culture and foreign policy instead of threat, deterrence or propaganda during the war (Yücel, 2016:748).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Ministry of Sports: A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The ministry of sports plays an important role in gaining a positive image and increasing awareness of a country thanks to the achievements in the field of sports.
Digital Diplomacy: Digital diplomacy is the use of digital communication techniques for diplomatic purposes. It is seen that interstate relations are carried out strategically through digital platforms. These may include communications by officials working in embassies, government ministerial agencies, or other military, economic, or political institutions with their counterparts in other countries. The concept of digital diplomacy is a diplomacy process implemented in front of the public, with the internet being an open space. For this reason, it is also used to refer to public diplomacy. In this respect, digital diplomacy can be an expression that corresponds to the application of both interstate diplomacy and public diplomacy, which is called the diplomacy process between states and foreign public opinion, from digital platforms.
Digitalization: Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format. The result is the representation of an object, image, sound, document, or signal (usually an analog signal) obtained by generating a series of numbers that describe a discrete set of points or samples. The result is called digital representation or, more specifically, a digital image, for the object, and digital form, for the signal. In modern practice, the digitized data is in the form of binary numbers, which facilitates processing by digital computers and other operations, but digitizing simply means “the conversion of analog source material into a numerical format”; the decimal or any other number system can be used instead.
Web Design: Web design is a special designs that can be viewed by internet browsers in order to promote individuals or institutions. Web design has become the main and official information tool for businesses and individuals. It often helps to introduce people and institutions. Through web design, your designs become viewable in internet browsers. Today, with the increase in the use of internet and technology, the most important way of getting information and promotion has started to be web sites. The importance of web software and web design is increasing day by day. For most individuals and institutions, websites are already the primary means of promotion.
Ministry of Youth and Sports of Republic of Turkey: The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Gençlik ve Spor Bakanligi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Turkey in charge of regulating activities related to sports and youth development in Republic of Turkey. The ministry was established in 1969.
Network society: Network society is the expression coined in 1991 related to the social, political, economic, and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies. The intellectual origins of the idea can be traced back to the work of early social theorists such as Georg Simmel who analyzed the effect of modernization and industrial capitalism on complex patterns of affiliation, organization, production, and experience. A network society refers to the phenomenon related to the social, political, economic, and cultural changes that have occurred due to the spread of the networks of digital and information technologies that have engendered the changes in the areas mentioned above. The network society is a social structure based on networks operated by information and communication technologies based on microelectronics and digital computer networks that generate, process, and distribute information via the nodes of the networks.
Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic: The Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy (Kyrgyz: ????????, ????????, ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????????, romanized: Madaniyat, maalymat, sport jana jashtar sayasaty ministrligi), previously known as the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the ministry in charge of preservation and promotion of Kyrgyzstani culture in the republic and abroad. The ministry has its roots from the Soviet Union's Ministry of Culture, although the current ministry did not succeed directly from the Soviet ministry. Moreover, there were no ministries or state committees for tourism in the Soviet Union, because tourists to and from non-communist countries were highly restricted and few in numbers.