The Turkish government scholarship scheme as a soft power tool

Abstract

As the contour of world politics changes, the need for states to strategically design their foreign policy to respond to and consequently take advantage of the opportunities emanating from these changes become apparent. The current Turkish foreign policy can be situated within this spectrum. In recent decades, Turkey has taken a soft power dimension as the defining base of its foreign relations. In furthering this, a number of tools and instruments have been adopted including state-sponsored educational scholarship schemes targeted at international students. This study examined the main Turkish Government Scholarship Scheme (Turkiye Burslari) directed at international students. It emerged that the scholarship scheme has largely helped Ankara in the diffusion of its norms and propelled its objectives of becoming a regional super power and an important player on the global stage. Furthermore, it emerged that there is the need for certain reforms to be undertaken to address some challenges identified by respondents so as to enhance the competitiveness of Turkiye Burslari in relation to other scholarship schemes on the globe.