Cultural diplomacy and Turkey in the age of globalization

In today’s political world, diplomatic means play a significant role in a country’s efforts to achieve political goals and to promote its image in the international arena. Diplomatic channels are also being used by the governments rather than relying solely on military and economic means in their interactions with other countries. Moreover, in contrast to state-based diplomacy, which involves interactions between governments, nowadays, states’ diplomatic efforts are targeted at people as well. This paper examines the concept and practice of cultural diplomacy. Cultural diplomacy is carried out by a government to support its foreign policy goals or diplomacy or both by using a wide range of cultural manifestations for a number of purposes. In line with these discussions, the paper examines aspects of the cultural diplomacy of Turkey in order to understand how cultural diplomacy has been used as an important tool by Turkey within its relations with the Middle East in recent period with its limitations.