Abstract
This chapter analyses Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East through its export of soap operas to the region. It first focuses on the rationale behind Turkey’s shift from the use of hard power to the use of “soft power” in the Middle East. In particular, the author examines the key elements of the “strategic depth” theory, or the so-called Davutoğlu doctrine, and shows how a new vision for Turkey’s international role and cultural attractiveness underlies Turkey’s soft power in the region. Then, the paper examines one tool used to project Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East: the export of soap operas (diziler). Finally, this chapter offers an assessment of the real impact of Turkish soap operas in the Middle East; it argues that while soap operas have won the hearts and minds of the Arab populations, they have nevertheless failed to increase Turkey’s actual power capacity in the region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
In the 1990s, Mexican series like Rosalita or Maria Mercedes, dubbed in classical Arabic language, were very popular in the Middle East.
- 2.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “My Country is Your Faithful Ally and Friend,” The Wall Street Journal, 30 March 2003, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB104907941058746300.
- 3.
According to Kemalist Turkish historiography, Arabs were seen as the “enemies of the interior”, and were accused of accelerating the collapse of the Ottoman Empire because they orchestrated the “Arab revolt”.
- 4.
With Syria over the Hatay province, and with Iraq over Mosul.
- 5.
For example, Turkey and Syria had arrived to the brink of war in 1999 because Syria was hosting the Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
- 6.
Soap operas are not the only soft power tool used by Turkey. Other elements of Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East include: the launching of an Arabic-speaking TV channel (TRT Al Arabiyya); the establishment of Turkish cultural centers in Arab countries (known as Yunus Emre centers); and the offer of scholarships to Arab students through a program known as Turkiye Burslari.
- 7.
Personified here by Mehmet’s mother and grandfather.
- 8.
According to a survey by the Turkish think tank TESEV, 78% of Arab populations watch at least one romantic Turkish soap opera. “The perception of Turkey in the Middle East”, TESEV, 2010, 16.
- 9.
Season 2, episode 35.
- 10.
Season 1, episode 48.
- 11.
Interview in Istanbul, April 2014.
- 12.
See images in the Appendix.
- 13.
Season 1, Episode 10.
- 14.
Mainly Mexican and Venezuelan series like Cassandra and Maria Mercedes.
- 15.
Egypt State Information Service: http://www.sis.gov.eg/Ar/Templates/Articles/tmpArticles.aspx?ArtID=9.
- 16.
Off-the-record interview, January 2014.
- 17.
November 2012, Dubai.
- 18.
Turkish Statistical Institute, www.turkstat.gov.tr.
- 19.
The poll has a margin of error of +/− 3.5%.
- 20.
Poll conducted in the framework of a Ph.D. thesis at Sciences Po Paris; unpublished.
- 21.
For example, in a TV interview, a Lebanese scriptwriter, Claudia Marchalian, denounced Turkish soap operas as “a sign of Turkey’s return to its imperialist ambitions”.
- 22.
See fatwa by Sheikh AbdelazizAbdallah Al Sheikh: “Jugée « subversive » et « anti-islamique » : « Noor » s’attire les foudres des muftis saoudiens,” Oumma, 14 September 2014, http://oumma.com/Jugee-subversive-et-anti-islamique.
- 23.
For analyses and studies on the so-called “Turkish model” and its relevance to the Arab world, see: Meliha Benli Altunışık (2011) “La question du ‘modèle turc’ ou le soft power de la Turquie au Moyen-Orient,” in Dorothée Schmid, La Turquie au Moyen-Orient: Le retour d’une puissance régionale?, Paris, CNRS; Kemal Kirişci (2011), “Turkey’s ‘Demonstrative Effect’ and the Transformation of the Middle East,” Insight Turkey, Vol. 13, No. 2, 33–55; Emre İşeri and A. Oğuz Dilek (2012), “Beyond a Turkish Model in Transforming the Penetrated Middle East: The Nexus of Domestic Authority and International Prestige,” Ortadoğu Etütleri, Vol. 3, No. 2, 119–142.
Bibliography
Al Sheikh, Sheikh Abdelaziz Abdallah. “Jugée « subversive » et « anti-islamique » : « Noor » s’attire les foudres des muftis saoudiens.” Oumma, 14 September 2014, http://oumma.com/Jugee-subversive-et-anti-islamique.
Altınay, Hakan. “Turkey’s Soft Power: An Unpolished Gem or an Elusive Mirage?” Insight Turkey 10 No. 2 (2008), 55–66.
Benli Altunışık, Meliha. “Challenges to Turkey’s Soft Power in the Middle East.” TESEV Policy Brief, 2011. http://www.tesev.org.tr/assets/publications/file/21102013113608.pdf.
Benli Altunışık, Meliha. “La question du ‘modèle turc’ ou le soft power de la Turquie au Moyen-Orient.” In Dorothée Schmid, La Turquie au Moyen-Orient: Le retour d’une puissance régionale?. Paris: CNRS, 2011.
Buccianti, Alexandra. “Dubbed Turkish soap operas conquering the Arab world: Social liberation or cultural alienation?” Arab Media & Society, 1. http://www.arabmediasociety.com/?article=735.
Burdy, Jean-Paul. “Retour sur le ‘discours du balcon’ et sur la victoire d’un nouveau leader régional.” OVIPOT, 2011. http://ovipot.hypotheses.org/5873.
Davutoğlu, Ahmet. Stratejik Derinlik: Türkiye’nin Uluslararası Konumu. Istanbul: Küre Yayinlari, 2001. [Note that we are using the Arabic translation published by Al Jazeera Center for Studies in 2010].
Erdogan, Recep Tayyib. “My Country is Your Faithful Ally and Friend.” The Wall Street Journal, 30 March 2003. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB104907941058746300.
Grigoriadis, Ioannis. “The Davutoğlu Doctrine and Turkish Foreign Policy.” Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Working Paper 8, 2010.
Gonzales-Quijano, Yves. “L’attraction de la modernité “à la turque” dans le monde arabeà travers les productions audiovisuelles.” In Schmidt, Dorothée (ed.) La Turquie au Moyen-Orient: le retour d’une puissance régionale?, 115–126. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2011.
Hale, William. Turkish Foreign Policy Since 1774. London: Routledge, 2002.
Handy, Nathaniel. “Turkey’s shifting relations with its Middle East neighbors during the Davutoğlu era: History, power and policy.” Bilgi University Journal, Special Issue 23 (2011), 61–85.
İşeri, Emre and Oğuz Dilek, A. “Beyond a Turkish Model in Transforming the Penetrated Middle East: The Nexus of Domestic Authority and International Prestige.” Ortadoğu Etütleri, 3, No. 2 (2012), 119–142.
Jabbour, Jana. “Le monde selon Ankara.” Telos, November 2011, http://www.telos-eu.com/fr/globalisation/politique-internationale/le-monde-selon-ankara.html.
Kalın, Ibrahim. “Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in Turkey”, Perceptions 16 No. 3 (2011), 5–23. http://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ibrahim_kalin.pdf.
Kirişci, Kemal. “Turkey’s ‘Demonstrative Effect’ and the Transformation of the Middle East.” Insight Turkey, 13, No. 2 (2011), 33–55.
Kutlay, Mustafa and Dincer Bahadir, Osman. “Turkey’s power capacity in the Middle East: Limits of the possible.” USAK Report 12, No. 4 (2012). http://www.usak.org.tr/dosyalar/rapor/ctZTC1gAenLx7HaF8Gi7oip20CoDVX.pdf.
Nye, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2005.
Öner, Selcen. “Soft Power in Turkish Foreign Policy: New Instruments and Challenges.” Euxeinos 10 (2013), 7–15. http://acturca.info/2013/05/27/soft-power-in-turkish-foreign-policy-new-instruments-and-challenges/.
Rotivel, Agnès. “Les novelas turques, un modèle qui s’exporte”, La Croix, 2011. http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Monde/Les-novelas-turques-un-modele-qui-s-exporte-_NG_-2011-06-06-622207.
Sözen, Ahmet. “A Paradigm Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy: Transition and Challenges”, Turkish Studies 11, No. 1, (2010): 103–123. http://psi305.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/Shift%20in%20TFP.pdf.
Telhami, Shibley. “The 2011 Arab Public Opinion Poll.” Brookings, 2011. http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2011/11/21-arab-public-opinion-telhami.
Today’s Zaman. “Turkey’s Soft Power on the Rise Despite Challenges.” 2013. http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_openPrintPage.action?newsId=311464.
Turkish Statistical Institute. www.turkstat.gov.tr.
Ülgen, Sinan. “A place in the sun or fifteen minutes of fame? Understanding Turkey’s new foreign policy”, Carnegie Papers, 2010. http://carnegieendowment.org/files/turkey_new_foreign_policy.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jabbour, J. (2017). Winning Hearts and Minds through Soft Power: The Case of Turkish Soap Operas in the Middle East. In: Lenze, N., Schriwer, C., Jalil, Z. (eds) Media in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65771-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65771-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65770-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65771-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)