Abstract
In this chapter, the functional and pragmatic aspects of public diplomacy in Turkey are emphasized. The chapter tries to determine which values of Turkey are highlighted in the public diplomacy perspective. In general terms, it has been argued that the digital communication is an ideological understanding of public diplomacy practices or that the understanding that national interests are held in the forefront is heavy. In this study, two questions were asked in order to establish Turkey's public diplomacy perspective. The first question is What are the messages of Turkey to international community and foreign people in the digital age? The second question is How does Turkey communicate its message to the international community and foreign people in digital age and what tools do they use in this process? The answers to these questions were sought in general. The identified research questions were searched by digital applications, institutions' use of new media, and speech of person of government.
TopThe Conceptual Background Of Public Diplomacy
Globalization, the collapse of the USSR and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, coupled with the rapid development of communication technologies have brought about a change in traditional diplomacy. In the wake of the Cold War and in the multi-polar world of the new international system, diplomacy represents more than a profession, with diplomats acting as multi-layered concepts. Average citizens have become actors in diplomatic activities and have begun to play a role in international relations. These developments reveal the need for countries to develop communication strategies that target the public sphere of other countries in the international community in their foreign policy work. This evolution in diplomacy has given rise to a field that is called public diplomacy (Yağmurlu, 2007, pp. 12; Sancar, 2014, p. 1).
Having been mentioned for the first time in 1960s, it was only in 1990s that the concept of public diplomacy began to be considered as a functional instrument to solve diplomatic problems, and as an activity of states to inform and influence foreign societies. Today, on the other hand, other different components have been included in this framework. The activities of governmental and private organizations which extend beyond nations, such as tourism, sports, trade, the Internet, fashion, news, and political leaders, are considered within this framework (Nye 2005, pp. 8; Varoğlu, 2013, p. 1; Yılmaz, 2012, p. 222). In terms of its aims, it is seen that the public diplomacy contains all of the components that constitute societies (Bozkır, 2013, pp. 32).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Foreign People: It refers to all foreign societies outside a country.
Cultural Policies: Systematically preserving and transferring the values that society created for many years to come.
Intelligent Power: It is the fact that countries use their war capacities and their cultural values for certain purposes at the same time.
Political Value: Every state has some red lines in political terms. It refers to the subjects internalized by the society and becoming a tradition in state administration.
Public Diplomacy: It tells the true stories of the countries through different dynamics to different societies.
Perception Management: The minds are designed to be desired in certain situations.