Challenging the Soft Power Analysis

Abstract

This article will try to challenge the concept of soft power relying upon a case study of African students coming to Turkey through the channel of the Gülen Movement, a religiously inspired social movement. Through a micro-level analysis of African students’ trajectories and experiences in the Gülen Movement, I will try to show the limits of the concept of soft power as a category of analysis showing that it is not only vague, but can also be proven wrong in its theoretical grounds.

Keywords

• education
• Turkey
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Gülen Movement
• Soft Power