Abstract:

International education causes deep-rooted and long lasting effects on societies, as well as leads to sympathetic relations and interaction among societies; and that makes international education a valuable foreign policy tool. In her active foreign policy practices in the 1950s, 1990s and 2010s, Türkiye used international education as an element of soft power to influence international public opinion and keep it adherent to her, get internationalised, and expand her sphere of influence in the surrounding geography. Türkiye’s foreign policy and international education strategy have been carried out in parallel with each other. International education has been one of the high priority items in Turkish foreign policy agenda in the 1950s indexed to Western bloc policies; in the 1990s with a particular focus on cultural diplomacy; and in the 2010s in addition to her focus on cultural diplomacy along with the policies of combating terrorism and radicalisation; of becoming a globally influential regional power; of normalising unstable geographies; of providing support for multilateral and multilayered foreign Policy; and of deepening cooperation in the Turkic world.

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