Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power in the International Business Environment: Retrospective Analysis of Economies in Development

Abstract

In today’s international environment in which states are try­ing to establish their influence, culture and education must be seen as instruments of soft power. The cultural dimension is as fundamental as economic and political cooperation, but the im­portance of cooperation in the education sector, which is also an accessible form of the country’s influence on the international stage, should not be overlooked. In recent years, Turkey has worked intensively to expand and deepen co-operation in B&H and Kosovo, but also beyond, in the region, paving the way for economic cooperation and expanding its political influence. In this way, it has managed to make culture and education a stra­tegic tool within the Balkan region. To achieve this, through an active policy of soft power, it sought to develop cultural and ed­ucational projects with governments, but also non-governmental organizations in the field.

The article explores the retrospective activities of the Re­public of Turkey through a case study of the presence of this country in B&H and Kosovo. It is based on a wide range of data from selected official websites of the Republic of Turkey, as well as on academic studies in this field. With an active international policy aimed at dominating relations with the Western Balkans, Turkey has in recent decades created conditions of soft power by instrumentalizing its actions with an emphasis on culture and education. Although with oscillations, comparative data from the analyzed countries show that the total investments of the Re­public of Turkey in the culture and education sector have incre­ased in the last decade. At the same time, the study confirms the proactive role of this country in international relations, which with the concept of soft power and cultural diplomacy succe­ssfully promotes strategic, economic, but also political goals of national interest