Manas Üniversitesinin Türkiye’nin Yumuşak Gücüne Etkisi: Türkoloji ve Kırgızca-Türkiye Türkçesi Bölümleri Örneği
The Impact of Manas University on Türkiye's Soft Power: The Case of Turkology and Kyrgyz-Turkish Departments

Summary/Abstract: Following 1991, cooperation between the governments of Ankara and Bishkek began to develop across a wide range of political, economic, and cultural fields. Since 2002, Türkiye has placed increasing emphasis on soft power and public diplomacy in its foreign policy, adopting an approach that prioritizes language and cultural activities in Kyrgyzstan. The aim of this study is to highlight the contributions of the Turkology and Kyrgyz-Turkish Language Departments at Manas University to Türkiye’s soft power. In this context, the study addresses the following questions: “How and to what extent do the Department of Turkology and Kyrgyz-Turkish influence Türkiye’s soft power?” and “What influence do these departments have on the image of Türkiye and the Turkish people among Kyrgyz youth?” The existing literature has primarily focused on Türkiye’s relations with the Central Asian republics as a whole, while studies focusing specifically on Kyrgyzstan have tended to analyze bilateral relations from political, economic, and cultural perspectives. In addition to data obtained from the official website of Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, this study draws on faceto-face interviews conducted with the heads of the Turkology and Kyrgyz-Turkish Language Departments and Kyrgyz as well as students enrolled in these departments. Document analysis was employed as the primary qualitative research method, complemented by semi-structured interviews. To collect first-hand data, the author conducted fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan between 14 April and 8 May 2025. The roadmap of this study consists of the following stages: The first section examines the relationship between soft power and education, which constitutes the theoretical framework of the study. It then introduces Manas University, one of the cornerstones of Türkiye’s soft power in Kyrgyzstan. The third and fourth sections examine, respectively, the Department of Turkology and the Department of Kyrgyz and Turkish Languages.

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