The Prime Ministry's Office of Public Diplomacy (PDO) announced on its website Sept. 28 that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had revealed Turkey’s new logo and slogan, “Discover the Potential,” saying, “In humanitarian and emergency aid Turkey ranks third in the world now, following the United States and the United Kingdom.” Cemalettin Hasimi, the coordinator of the PDO, shared the news on his Twitter account, adding that Turkey is hosting 1.5 million refugees. The question is whether Turkey’s reputation in the international arena benefits from the governments media machine in light of the country's political, social and financial challenges.
A quick look at Hasimi’s Twitter account, as well as that of the PDO and its website, begs the question whether Turkish public relations works toward strengthening Turkey’s global image or rather support Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) reputation domestically. Many pundits are saying that Turkey is becoming further isolated in international politics.
The change for the worse of the Turkish image is not only validated by the pundits’ personal views. For instance, a Pew Research Center's survey in July indicated that the support for Erdogan by the public in Middle Eastern countries surveyed — Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian occupied territories, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt — has plummeted in just one year. Similarly, in 2012, Erdogan was listed as one of the top five foreign friends of US President Barack Obama. Yet, for Erdogan's presidential inauguration ceremony on Aug. 28, Obama sent Jess Baily, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy, to represent the United States.
It is clear that Erdogan and his administration’s angry outbursts toward foreign media outlets such as The New York Times and Der Spiegel do not contribute to the image the AKP government strives to portray abroad. How was Turkey's reputation ruined for pundits now to debate whether the country should be kicked out of NATO? How did Erdogan's global popularity change to that of an angry authoritarian leader?
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
