Araştırma Makalesi
BibTex RIS Kaynak Göster

The European Union's Latest Approach to Soft Power: Digital Diplomacy

Yıl 2025, , 79 - 97, 30.06.2025
https://doi.org/10.38122/ased.1623524

Öz

Digital transformation is both a goal of sustainable development and an important contribution to achieving additional goals within the framework of sustainable development. However, the digital transformation process has a dual effect on sustainable development, producing both beneficial and harmful results. One of the fundamental concepts in international relations is soft power. In the age of globalization, it serves as an important political tool to influence and control societies in various social and humanitarian aspects such as language, culture and aid. Digitalization, which plays an important role in the shaping and progress of globalization, is rapidly penetrating all areas of social life, from diplomacy to economy. In this context, digital diplomacy emerges as a way to transfer soft power to the digital sphere and requires the restructuring of power dynamics and balances in this area. The European Union has successfully positioned itself in the digitalization landscape by rapidly adapting to global changes and transformations. As a result, digital diplomacy is an area where the European Union actively organizes and develops strategies for its digital future. The term Digital Europe is widely referenced and digital diplomacy is effectively used in policy development among EU member states, neighboring countries and international organizations. This study aims to assess the claim that digital diplomacy serves as a component of soft power in the effort to establish digital supremacy on the global stage, focusing on the European Union as a case study. The assessment involves the analysis of official documents from the European Union using content analysis and existing literature. By combining aspects of power and diplomacy, this research aims to advance the ongoing discourse surrounding digitalization in the fields of international relations and political science from the perspective of the European Union.

Kaynakça

  • Antonova, N. L., Sushchenko, A. D., & Popova, N. G. (2020). Soft power of higher education as a global leadership factor. The Education and Science Journal, 22(1), 31-58.
  • Antwi-Boateng, O., & Alhashmi, A. A. (2022). The emergence of the United Arab Emirates as a global soft power: current strategies and future challenges. Economic and Political Studies, 10(2), 208-227.
  • Aslan, P. & Oğuz, G. (2016). Dijital diplomasi, küresel algı ve Türkiye. Sezer, N., Gezgin, S. ve Yolcu, E. (Ed.), 14th International Symposium Communication in the Millennium içinde, (s. 573-590). İstanbul Üniversitesi.
  • Bell, E. C. (2022). Understanding soft power discourse in the National Library of Australia. Journal of Documentation, 78(6), 1457-1475.
  • Bentrovato, D. (2021). History education, transitional justice and politics of reconciliation: Multi-and univocality around violent pasts in South African and Rwandan Textbooks. Historical Justice and History Education, 291-314.
  • Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (2022). Our mission. U.S Department of State. https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/deputy-secretary-of-state/bureau-of-cyberspace-and digital-policy/
  • CCDCOE (2017). European Union equipping itself against cyber attacks with the help of cyber diplomacy toolbox. https://ccdcoe.org/incyder-articles/european-union-equipping-itself against-cyberattacks-with-the-help-of-cyber-diplomacy-toolbox/
  • Ceyhan, A.İ. (2018). Siyasal iletişimde kamu diplomasisi. Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Chishti, T. C. T. (2021). Soft power internationalism. Journal of Contemporary Studies, 10(1), 123 126.
  • Council of the European Union (2017). Draft Council conclusions on a framework for a joint EU diplomatic response to malicious cyber activities ("cyber diplomacy toolbox"). 9916/17, Brussels. https://ccdcoe.org/uploads/2018/11/EU-170607-CyberDiplomacyToolbox-1.pdf
  • Council of the European Union (2020). Towards a more dynamic, resilient and competitive European industry: Council adopts conclusions. 16/11/2020. Press Release 777/20.
  • Council of the European Union (2022a). EU digital diplomacy: Council agrees a more concerted European approach to the challenges posed by new digital technologies, Press Release.
  • Council of the European Union (2022b). EU digital diplomacy: Council conclusions. 18.07.2022, Brussels: 11406/22.
  • Digital Diplomacy Index (2023). https://digital-diplomacy-index.com/about/
  • Duarte, P., & Ferreira-Pereira, L. C. (2021). The soft power of China and the European Union in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative and global strategy. Journal of Contemporary European Studies.
  • European Commission (2020). New EU cybersecurity strategy and new rules to make physical and digital critical entities more resiliant. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_2391 Press Release.
  • European Commission (2022). Europe’s digital decade: digital targets for 2030. https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes digitaldecade-digital-targets-2030_en#digital-citizenship-rights-and-principles-for europeans
  • Ferreira-Pereira, L., and J. Pinto. (2021). “Soft Power in the European Union’s Strategic Partnership Diplomacy: The Erasmus plus Programme.” In The European Union’s Strategic Partnerships: Global Diplomacy in a Contested World, edited by L. C. Ferreira-Pereira and M. Smith, 69 94. London: Palgrave.
  • Gallarotti, G. M. (2022a). Esteem and influence: Soft power in international politics. Journal of Political Power, 15(3).
  • Goldsmith, B. E., Horiuchi, Y., & Matush, K. (2021). Does public diplomacy sway foreign public opinion? Identifying the effect of high-level visits. American Political Science Review, 115(4), 1342-1357.
  • İskit, T. (2020). Diplomasi tarihi, teorisi, kurumları ve uygulaması (7. Baskı). İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  • Kurt, G. (2018). Dijital diplomasi. Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Moret, E. ve Pawlak, P. (2017). The EU cyber diplomacy toolbox: towards a cyber sanctions regime?. European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) (24).
  • Nelaeva, G. A. (2018). British public diplomacy and soft power. Diplomatic influence and digital disruption. Acta Politica, 54(1), 174–176.
  • Nye, J. S. (1990). Soft power. Foreign policy, (80), 153-171.
  • Ohnesorge, H. W. (2019). Power in international relations: Understandings and varieties. Soft Power, 23–83.
  • Pawlak, P. ve Barbero, F. (2021). Green digital diplomacy. Time for the EU to lead. European Union Institute for Security Studies. Brief:18.
  • Ringhof, J. ve Torreblanca, J. I. (2022). The geopolitics of technology: how the EU can become a global player. European Council on Foreign Relations. Policy Brief, https://ecfr.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2022/05/The-geopolitics-of-technology-How-the-EU-can become-a-globalplayer.
  • Sabala, G. M. (2019). Principles, effectiveness and challenges of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms: A review of cases from Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda. Journal of Living Together, 6(1), 162-172.
  • Scott-Smith, G. P., Cull, N. J., & Snow, N. (2020). Exchange programs and public diplomacy. Routledge Handbooks, 38-49.
  • Statista (2024). Global internet penetration rate as of 2024 by https://www.statista.com/statistics/269329/penetration-rate-of-the-internet-by-region/ region.
  • Tran, E. (2023). Twitter, public diplomacy and social power in soft-balancing China–France relations. Journal of Contemporary China, 1–28.
  • Tsvetkova, N. ve Rushchin, D. (2021). Russia’s public diplomacy: from soft power to strategic communication. Journal of Political Marketing, 20(1), 50-59.
  • Wheeler, T. (2021). Time for a U.S- EU digital alliance. Brookings Institute Report, https://www.brookings.edu/research/time-for-a-us-eu-digital-alliance/
  • Winkler, S. C. (2020). Conceptual politics in practice: how soft power changed the world (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Economic History and International Relations, Stockholm University).
  • Yıldırım, G. (2015). “Kültürel diplomasi ekseninde” uluslararası halkla ilişkiler perspektifinden kamu diplomasisi (1. Baskı). İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
  • Yücel, G. (2021). Dijital diplomasi. TRT akademi, 1(2), 748-760.

Avrupa Birliği'nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi

Yıl 2025, , 79 - 97, 30.06.2025
https://doi.org/10.38122/ased.1623524

Öz

Dijital dönüşüm hem sürdürülebilir kalkınmanın bir hedefi hem de sürdürülebilir kalkınma çerçevesinde ek hedeflere ulaşmada önemli bir katkıdır. Ancak dijital dönüşüm süreci sürdürülebilir kalkınma üzerinde hem yararlı hem de zararlı sonuçlar üreterek ikili bir etkiye sahiptir. Uluslararası ilişkilerdeki temel kavramlardan biri yumuşak güçtür. Küreselleşme çağında, dil, kültür ve yardım gibi çeşitli sosyal ve insani yönlerden toplumları etkilemek ve kontrol etmek için önemli bir politik araç olarak hizmet eder. Küreselleşmenin şekillenmesinde ve ilerlemesinde önemli bir rol oynayan dijitalleşme, diplomasiden ekonomiye kadar toplumsal yaşamın her alanına hızla nüfuz etmektedir. Bu bağlamda dijital diplomasi, yumuşak gücü dijital alana aktarmanın bir yolu olarak ortaya çıkmakta ve bu alandaki güç dinamiklerinin ve dengelerinin yeniden yapılandırılmasını gerektirmektedir. Avrupa Birliği, küresel değişim ve dönüşümlere hızla uyum sağlayarak dijitalleşme manzarasında kendini başarıyla konumlandırmıştır. Sonuç olarak dijital diplomasi, Avrupa Birliği'nin dijital geleceği için aktif olarak örgütlendiği ve stratejiler geliştirdiği bir alandır. Dijital Avrupa terimi yaygın olarak referans alınmakta ve dijital diplomasi, AB üye devletleri, komşu ülkeler ve uluslararası örgütler arasında politika geliştirmede etkili bir şekilde kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışma, dijital diplomasinin küresel sahnede dijital üstünlük kurma çabasında yumuşak gücün bir bileşeni olarak hizmet ettiği iddiasını, bir vaka çalışması olarak Avrupa Birliği'ne odaklanarak değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Değerlendirme, içerik analizi ve mevcut literatür kullanılarak Avrupa Birliği'nden resmi belgelerin analizini içerir. Güç ve diplomasi yönlerini birleştirerek, bu araştırma, uluslararası ilişkiler ve siyaset bilimi alanlarında dijitalleşmeyi çevreleyen devam eden söylemi Avrupa Birliği perspektifinden ilerletmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Kaynakça

  • Antonova, N. L., Sushchenko, A. D., & Popova, N. G. (2020). Soft power of higher education as a global leadership factor. The Education and Science Journal, 22(1), 31-58.
  • Antwi-Boateng, O., & Alhashmi, A. A. (2022). The emergence of the United Arab Emirates as a global soft power: current strategies and future challenges. Economic and Political Studies, 10(2), 208-227.
  • Aslan, P. & Oğuz, G. (2016). Dijital diplomasi, küresel algı ve Türkiye. Sezer, N., Gezgin, S. ve Yolcu, E. (Ed.), 14th International Symposium Communication in the Millennium içinde, (s. 573-590). İstanbul Üniversitesi.
  • Bell, E. C. (2022). Understanding soft power discourse in the National Library of Australia. Journal of Documentation, 78(6), 1457-1475.
  • Bentrovato, D. (2021). History education, transitional justice and politics of reconciliation: Multi-and univocality around violent pasts in South African and Rwandan Textbooks. Historical Justice and History Education, 291-314.
  • Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (2022). Our mission. U.S Department of State. https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/deputy-secretary-of-state/bureau-of-cyberspace-and digital-policy/
  • CCDCOE (2017). European Union equipping itself against cyber attacks with the help of cyber diplomacy toolbox. https://ccdcoe.org/incyder-articles/european-union-equipping-itself against-cyberattacks-with-the-help-of-cyber-diplomacy-toolbox/
  • Ceyhan, A.İ. (2018). Siyasal iletişimde kamu diplomasisi. Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Chishti, T. C. T. (2021). Soft power internationalism. Journal of Contemporary Studies, 10(1), 123 126.
  • Council of the European Union (2017). Draft Council conclusions on a framework for a joint EU diplomatic response to malicious cyber activities ("cyber diplomacy toolbox"). 9916/17, Brussels. https://ccdcoe.org/uploads/2018/11/EU-170607-CyberDiplomacyToolbox-1.pdf
  • Council of the European Union (2020). Towards a more dynamic, resilient and competitive European industry: Council adopts conclusions. 16/11/2020. Press Release 777/20.
  • Council of the European Union (2022a). EU digital diplomacy: Council agrees a more concerted European approach to the challenges posed by new digital technologies, Press Release.
  • Council of the European Union (2022b). EU digital diplomacy: Council conclusions. 18.07.2022, Brussels: 11406/22.
  • Digital Diplomacy Index (2023). https://digital-diplomacy-index.com/about/
  • Duarte, P., & Ferreira-Pereira, L. C. (2021). The soft power of China and the European Union in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative and global strategy. Journal of Contemporary European Studies.
  • European Commission (2020). New EU cybersecurity strategy and new rules to make physical and digital critical entities more resiliant. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_2391 Press Release.
  • European Commission (2022). Europe’s digital decade: digital targets for 2030. https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes digitaldecade-digital-targets-2030_en#digital-citizenship-rights-and-principles-for europeans
  • Ferreira-Pereira, L., and J. Pinto. (2021). “Soft Power in the European Union’s Strategic Partnership Diplomacy: The Erasmus plus Programme.” In The European Union’s Strategic Partnerships: Global Diplomacy in a Contested World, edited by L. C. Ferreira-Pereira and M. Smith, 69 94. London: Palgrave.
  • Gallarotti, G. M. (2022a). Esteem and influence: Soft power in international politics. Journal of Political Power, 15(3).
  • Goldsmith, B. E., Horiuchi, Y., & Matush, K. (2021). Does public diplomacy sway foreign public opinion? Identifying the effect of high-level visits. American Political Science Review, 115(4), 1342-1357.
  • İskit, T. (2020). Diplomasi tarihi, teorisi, kurumları ve uygulaması (7. Baskı). İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
  • Kurt, G. (2018). Dijital diplomasi. Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Moret, E. ve Pawlak, P. (2017). The EU cyber diplomacy toolbox: towards a cyber sanctions regime?. European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) (24).
  • Nelaeva, G. A. (2018). British public diplomacy and soft power. Diplomatic influence and digital disruption. Acta Politica, 54(1), 174–176.
  • Nye, J. S. (1990). Soft power. Foreign policy, (80), 153-171.
  • Ohnesorge, H. W. (2019). Power in international relations: Understandings and varieties. Soft Power, 23–83.
  • Pawlak, P. ve Barbero, F. (2021). Green digital diplomacy. Time for the EU to lead. European Union Institute for Security Studies. Brief:18.
  • Ringhof, J. ve Torreblanca, J. I. (2022). The geopolitics of technology: how the EU can become a global player. European Council on Foreign Relations. Policy Brief, https://ecfr.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2022/05/The-geopolitics-of-technology-How-the-EU-can become-a-globalplayer.
  • Sabala, G. M. (2019). Principles, effectiveness and challenges of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms: A review of cases from Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda. Journal of Living Together, 6(1), 162-172.
  • Scott-Smith, G. P., Cull, N. J., & Snow, N. (2020). Exchange programs and public diplomacy. Routledge Handbooks, 38-49.
  • Statista (2024). Global internet penetration rate as of 2024 by https://www.statista.com/statistics/269329/penetration-rate-of-the-internet-by-region/ region.
  • Tran, E. (2023). Twitter, public diplomacy and social power in soft-balancing China–France relations. Journal of Contemporary China, 1–28.
  • Tsvetkova, N. ve Rushchin, D. (2021). Russia’s public diplomacy: from soft power to strategic communication. Journal of Political Marketing, 20(1), 50-59.
  • Wheeler, T. (2021). Time for a U.S- EU digital alliance. Brookings Institute Report, https://www.brookings.edu/research/time-for-a-us-eu-digital-alliance/
  • Winkler, S. C. (2020). Conceptual politics in practice: how soft power changed the world (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Economic History and International Relations, Stockholm University).
  • Yıldırım, G. (2015). “Kültürel diplomasi ekseninde” uluslararası halkla ilişkiler perspektifinden kamu diplomasisi (1. Baskı). İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
  • Yücel, G. (2021). Dijital diplomasi. TRT akademi, 1(2), 748-760.
Toplam 37 adet kaynakça vardır.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil Türkçe
Konular Avrupa ve Bölge Çalışmaları, Avrupa Çalışmaları
Bölüm Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar

Elif Özdilek 0000-0003-0907-8771

Yayımlanma Tarihi 30 Haziran 2025
Gönderilme Tarihi 20 Ocak 2025
Kabul Tarihi 21 Mayıs 2025
Yayımlandığı Sayı Yıl 2025

Kaynak Göster

APA Özdilek, E. (2025). Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi. Aksaray Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 9(1), 79-97. https://doi.org/10.38122/ased.1623524
AMA Özdilek E. Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi. ASED. Haziran 2025;9(1):79-97. doi:10.38122/ased.1623524
Chicago Özdilek, Elif. “Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi”. Aksaray Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 9, sy. 1 (Haziran 2025): 79-97. https://doi.org/10.38122/ased.1623524.
EndNote Özdilek E (01 Haziran 2025) Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi. Aksaray Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 9 1 79–97.
IEEE E. Özdilek, “Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi”, ASED, c. 9, sy. 1, ss. 79–97, 2025, doi: 10.38122/ased.1623524.
ISNAD Özdilek, Elif. “Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi”. Aksaray Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 9/1 (Haziran 2025), 79-97. https://doi.org/10.38122/ased.1623524.
JAMA Özdilek E. Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi. ASED. 2025;9:79–97.
MLA Özdilek, Elif. “Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi”. Aksaray Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, c. 9, sy. 1, 2025, ss. 79-97, doi:10.38122/ased.1623524.
Vancouver Özdilek E. Avrupa Birliği’nin Yumuşak Güce Yönelik Son Yaklaşımı: Dijital Diplomasi. ASED. 2025;9(1):79-97.