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The concept of “soft power,” first used by American political scientist Joseph Nye at the end of the 1980s, is defined as the act of persuading voluntarily without any coercion, in complete contrast to military forces, economic sanctions, and payment incentives that can be characterized as “hard power”. According to Nye, soft power elements are divided into three: Cultural, ideological, and institutional. In other words, “If a country’s culture and ideology are attractive, others become more willing while the country makes them do what it wants”. An example from South Korea can be given as an example of soft power. The “k-pop” culture, which has become popular in the country recently, is a cultural soft power. “K-pop” music has gained worldwide fame; therefore, curiosity about South Korea has increased. In this way, interest in music alone has increased curiosity over time, ranging from South Korea’s beauty products to their simple clothing styles, food, and understanding of beauty. People learn, accept, and try the country’s values without any sanctions. They even integrate it into their own lifestyles. As these values are learned, the person also becomes curious about that country’s language. Learning a country’s language is an important step in helping that country make itself visible. It spreads its culture without using hard power through applications such as Korean Cultural Centers and organized dance competitions, food competitions, etc. Similarly, Japanese culture, famous for its “manga” or “anime,” is similar to this; these examples can be increased. The Yunus Emre Institute, which teaches Turkish culture and language in Germany, and the Goethe Institute, which is active in Türkiye, appear as soft power actors. States show their own ideologies as more sympathetic and acceptable through soft power tools and make others do what they want without using hard power over other countries. Today, the field of soft power is growing gradually, especially thanks to developing technology. States can reach the citizens of other states through traditional media or social media without even having to open institutions in those states.
Today, the importance of soft power is increasing. Contrary to military power, economic pressure, and diplomatic threats, the cost of soft power is lower and it is more widely accepted at the international level. The fact that ‘gains’ acquired through tools of force and pressure are relatively short-lived and their acceptability is low, especially at the international level, also reduces the desirability of hard power. For these reasons, soft power has begun to be used more in many ways. The aim of this analysis is to examine the examples of soft power mentioned above in Türkiye and Germany through youth civil society organisations. By evaluating the youth organisations of two politically and socially different countries like Türkiye and Germany in the analysis, it will be attempted to understand how and in which areas today’s youth organisations operate as soft power elements in different societies. Youth organisations are special as a soft power. Thanks to volunteering projects, exchange programs, workshops, and trainings, they both establish a cultural bridge and aim for young people to be more active and realize themselves. At the same time, they increase trust in their own societies or help young people make their voices heard at the international level. In this context, in our study, first, which youth CSOs are in Türkiye and Germany and in which fields they operate will be examined. As a second step, studies carried out in the fields of activity and then examinations through examples and comparative analysis will take place. Finally, the global and national effects of youth CSOs will be emphasized.
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