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Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Republic of Turkey has a multifaceted relationship with the Central Asian region, historically, culturally, economically and geopolitically. This relationship, which continued from the establishment of the Republic of Turkey to the present day, continued to strengthen with the independence of the Central Asian and Caucasian states after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Thanks to Turkey's active foreign policy in the region after 1991, its role as an actor in international relations has increased. Turkey played a leading role in the initiatives that led to the establishment of the Organization of Turkic States in the 1990s. The increasing institutionalization in bilateral relations between the Organization of Turkish States and Turkey continues today. Addressing and examining this situation constitutes an important research area in terms of analyzing the point of Turkish foreign policy from past to present and its development as an international actor. In the study, Turkey's actor level and power in the Turkish world were interpreted at a theoretical level. This situation also revealed the structure of the international system and Turkey's situation. This study also examined the actor relationship between international organizations and states. Thus, the changing structure of the international system in the new period was discussed. Current global actor analyzes are also included in the study. The international actor status of the Organization of Turkish States and its bilateral relations with Turkey are not included in the study. This issue is a separate area that needs to be addressed broadly and comprehensively. For this reason, it was not included in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations formed by states to achieve their political goals play an important role in the international environment. The Organization of Turkic States, which was established in 2021, is one of them. It is seen that the foundations of the organization, formerly known as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries, were laid in 2009. It is possible to say that the main purpose of the organization is to increase the relationship between the Turkish states. This study touches upon the subjects of Turkey's geopolitical foreign policy leaning toward Turkic geography and the Organization of Turkic States having an international institutional identity. Information was given about the formation of the Organization of Turkic States, which was chosen as an international organization in the foreign policy of the Republic of Turkey, its institutional structure, and the potential of member and observer countries, and the organization was introduced within certain limits. In the study, a literature review covering written text, internet sources, official newspapers, and institutional content was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of soft power, which has been introduced to International Relations studies by Joseph S. Nye Jr., has become an integral element of states’ foreign policies, particularly since the end of the bipolar system. Türkiye has made significant use of soft power in its foreign policy since the 1990s. !e Turkic states of the Caucasus and Central Asia have particularly benfited from Türkiye’s soft power approach, which was instrumental in the foundation of the Turkic Council in 2009 – renamed as the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in 2021. The cooperation among the Turkic states dates back to the voluntary disintegration of the Soviet Union which resulted in the peaceful resolution of the Cold War as one of the major international conflicts. The collapse of the Soviet Union also prepared the ground for the restoration of the links between the Turkic-speaking peoples who share common cultural, linguistic and religious roots. However, the geopolitical climate in the initial period was not conducive to reach this long awaited goal. As a result, the cooperation in the Turkic world has had ups and downs. In other words, it took some time to foster collaboration among the Turkic-speaking states and unleash their true potential even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, the institutionalization of the Turkic cooperation through the establishment of the OTS was a turning point. Against this background, this article seeks to understand Türkiye’s policies toward the Turkic states from a soft power perspective. After reviewing the vision put forward by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with regard to the Turkic world, the article discusses the signficance of Türkiye’s approach in the post-Cold War period. It also highlights the use of soft power by the OTS to boost the regional cooperation in the Turkic world. Finally, the article draws attention to the contribution of Kyrgyzstan to the soft power dimension of the OTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]