From Hard Power to Soft Power Public Diplomacy Conducted After the Cyprus Peace Operation

Abstract

In international politics, power has long been defined through hard power elements such as military capacity and economic domination. However, in contemporary international politics, in order for states and non-state actors to be effective, they have begun to work not only with coercive tools but also with soft power elements such as cultural influence, political values ​​and social appeal. At this point, the concept of soft power developed by Joseph Nye refers to the ability of a country to persuade the public opinion of another country in the direction it wants, without coercion, through consent by using its appeal; while smart power, a more advanced form of this understanding, emphasizes the necessity of using hard and soft power together in a balanced and strategic manner. Within this framework, public diplomacy, as an important tool of soft power, encompasses the efforts of states to guide and promote foreign public opinion and shape their international image. Although the Cyprus Peace Operation carried out in 1974 was initially a military intervention based on hard power, soft power tools were used in the post-operation period in order to change the negative perception in the international public opinion, and smart power strategies and public diplomacy efforts came to the fore. Although the operation was carried out in line with the legitimate right of intervention arising from the Treaty of Guarantee in order to protect the Turkish Cypriot community against Greek attacks and to re-establish the constitutional order in Cyprus, a strong public opinion against Turkey emerged in Western countries, especially with the second operation carried out in Cyprus. The problematic of this study is how Turkey made a transition from hard power to soft power in its foreign policy after the Cyprus Operation and how it used public diplomacy in this process. The aim of the study is to analyze this diplomatic transformation shaped under the leadership of Bülent Ecevit in the context of public diplomacy practices and soft power strategies. In this assessment covering the years 1974-75, Ecevit's press releases, parliamentary speeches and communication with the international media were taken as the focal point due to the lack of non-state actors within the framework of the limitations of the period.