SOFT POWER IN THE CONCEPT OF TRANSCULTURATION: IDENTITY AND UNIVERSAL IDENTITY LEGITIMIZATION AND NON-ETHNOCENTRIC IMAGE

Abstract

In an expanded cultural perspective, the process of transculturation from the past to the present is a cumulative and formalized order and sophisticated approach that has an impact on societies. Amidst multidimensional cultural differences, transculturation formulates cultural phenomena between self and other for societies’ quest for sharing, and provides temporal responses to people’s demands and needs. Soft power plays a prominent role in shaping the transculturation process. In the concept of transculturation, universal soft power instruments bring the distinctive qualities of human beings into question and the established traditions, practices, values and beliefs of society are transformed by the networks and tools surrounding the cultural space. Soft power instruments that constitute universal values challenge traditional social despotism and construct non-ethnocentric images and notions of social and intellectual unity that belong to universal humanity and help legitimize universal identity. In this context, the transculturation process and soft power, which carry out transformation processes, create a sense of being the majority in people, and the universal values that permeate the masses and the universal needs brought about by the environmental conditions create a representation in societies. Moreover, the acceptance of universal values creates a global synthesis in societies and the characteristics of representation are reflected in practical life. This article examines the role of soft power in the concept of transculturation, discusses transculturation processes and soft power instruments with examples from history, and finally analyzes issues related to identity and universal identity legitimization and non-ethnocentric image.

Keywords

• transculturation
• soft power
• identity
• universal identity
• non-ethnocentric
• culture
• global culture
• representation