Gendering Public Diplomacy: Turkey and Europe in the 1930s

This article scrutinizes the role of women's rights and women actors in Turkey's public diplomacy strategy in the 1930s and discusses whether and if so how it managed to change the long-standing European prejudices against Turkey. Accordingly, first, the article discusses the early reforms...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern studies 2023-03, Vol.25 (2), p.239-256
Main Authors: Rumelili, Bahar, Aydın-Düzgit, Senem, Gülmez, Seçkin Barış
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diplomacy
Discourse analysis
Political alliances
Women
Womens rights
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article scrutinizes the role of women's rights and women actors in Turkey's public diplomacy strategy in the 1930s and discusses whether and if so how it managed to change the long-standing European prejudices against Turkey. Accordingly, first, the article discusses the early reforms of the Turkish Republic and their European reception. Then, relying on critical discourse analysis, it examines two prominent cases; namely, Keriman Halis' victory in the 'Miss Universe' beauty contest in 1932 and the organization of the 12 th Congress of the International Alliance of Women in Istanbul in 1935, comparatively to observe how they resonated in Europe. The article will conclude by assessing whether the changing status of women in Turkish society has played a role in shifting the European perceptions of the newly established Turkish Republic.
ISSN:1944-8953
1944-8961
DOI:10.1080/19448953.2022.2143778