The politics of educational exchange: Turkish education in Eurasia

Abstract

This article assesses the role of educational exchange as a foreign policy tool. It investigates public and private educational ties that were established between Turkey and Turkic populations of Eurasia, including the Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union after 1991-a period which is considered to be the beginning of a new era in Turkish foreign policy making. After spending the Cold War as a buffer state, Turkey felt the need to redefine its role in the international arena in the aftermath of the Cold War. The emergence of the Turkic republics played an important role in this redefinition process. © 2004 University of Glasgow.