KAZAKH TURKISH LYCEUM AS A PUBLIC DIPLOMACY TOOL OF TURKEY IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Public diplomacy has been the tool of choice for countries trying to gain international influence. With cultural centers such as the British Council, and Alliance Française having its roots from the late 19th to early 20th century, and exchange programs such as Fulbright program after WWII, there is a tendency for powerful countries utilizing public diplomacy to procure its interests in the international field. However, there is a divide within the literature on whether only governments could be an agent of public diplomacy. Through this thesis I will show that while non-governmental organizations could be used by a government as an agent for public diplomacy, there are certain risks with it. Turkey’s use of Kazakh Turkish Lyceum(KTL) is a very peculiar example of public diplomacy and shows the risks of working with NGOs for public diplomacy. Literature has long shown that the KTL system was organized by the Gülen Movement (GM) and that they were mission schools disguised as secular schools. However, this paper demonstrates that KTL shares many similarities with the public diplomacy apparatuses, and their ties with Ankara show that it had served Ankara as a public diplomacy apparatus.