COVID-19 and Turkey's Soft Power Diplomacy

"The pandemic has ensued a regional power competition between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt over who’s going to be the next leader of the global Ummah. Erdoğan, right now, is again trying to define himself as a Muslim leader, even though Turkey is still, on paper, a constitutionally secular Muslim-majority country."

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkey has used humanitarian aid as part
 of a soft power play to extend its international influence. Since mid-March, Turkey has
 sent medical supplies to Italy, Spain, and Britain, as well as countries in the Balkans and
 the Middle East. To understand the domestic and regional context of these soft power
 initiatives and their political implications for Turkey, Wikistrat interviewed Dr. Ahmet Erdi
 Öztürk, an expert on Turkish politics and foreign policy.

Click here to download the report