This research aims to determine foreign military students’ perceptions of Türkiye and also discusses the importance of foreign military education in global strategy. Being different from normal student exchange programs, the study evaluated the strategic importance the foreign military exchange student program has for countries. The interviews were conducted with the guest military personnel (GMPs), who are formed of students from the Turkish Air Force Academy, Turkish Naval Academy, and Turkish Health Sciences University.

The United States of America (USA) is an important country in terms of developing an understanding of international military education. International military programs are generally related to public, military, and security diplomacy. After World War II, the USA aimed to support and spread American culture and educational understanding. The Fulbright Act (US Congress,1946) and Smith-Mundt Act (US Congress, 1948) were enacted for this purpose. This process also changed the understanding of foreign military education. Soft power theory has special significance within the framework of countries’ goals and policies and gained an important position in the period that followed. The United States believes foreign military education programs to increase cooperation and reduce conflict (US Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act [USMECA], 1961, p. 2451). For this reason, identifying the military leaders of the future has been considered important (United States Foreign Assistance Act, 1961, p. 719). International military education is an important policy of the USA and is considered a tool for increasing its effectiveness in the global struggle. The prevention of wars and conflicts by increasing cooperation, improving conflict resolution, and increasing the number of allies was established as some of the general objectives of international military education (USMECA, 1961, p. 2451). The exchange program is very important with regard to countries’ strategic aims. Foreign military students’ desire to receive voluntary education in a foreign country is strategically important, and the effect of soft power is considered as the assumption that countries can influence the potential choices of young people. Determining Türkiye’s soft power in the region is important, and foreign military students’ perceptions of Türkiye should be determined in accordance with the stated objectives. This study is thus an attempt to determine their perceptions.

Method

This section includes information about the study design, study group, data collection instrument, and data collection and analysis processes.

Research Design

The study considers the phenomenological design, a qualitative research method, to be appropriate within its scope and has preferred this method for its ability to reveal students’ perceptions of Türkiye (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2018, p. 72).

Study Group

Maximum variation sampling, a type of purposive sampling, was used to determine the study group. The study includes students from each different country and region.

Data Collection Tools

The interviews were collected using a questionnaire the researcher (Cantürk, 2021) has designed. The semi-structured interview form is called the Cultural Interaction and Adaptation Assessment Form for Guest Military Personnel and was designed to determine MAPs’ opinions before and after their arrival in Türkiye. The interview form consists of four sections on the GMPs’: (a) demographic information, (b) process of applying for education in Türkiye, (c) educational experiences, and (d) future plans. The semi-structured interview form includes six open-ended questions. Due to the aforementioned topics having been previously addressed from a broad perspective in the master’s thesis study, this time the study aims to focus on section b of the form and analyze it in greater depth. The validity and reliability tests of the developed interview form were completed with the feedback of three experts on research methods.

Data Analysis

The interviews lasted approximately 30-35 minutes. Audio recordings were made during the interviews. After the interviews were completed, the audio recordings were coded and converted into written documents. The study was coded and classified using the program MAXQDA 2018.1 program.

Findings

The students in the study are from Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Caucasus. In general, military students from different countries lacked sufficient information about Türkiye. When considering their limited information, GMPs were seen to define Türkiye as a country with a Muslim population. Other information included some aspects of tourism, movies, TV series, and sports activities.

Results

Among the limited information available to the foreign military exchange students when asked to define Türkiye, the first definition that came to their minds related to the country having a majority Muslim population in terms of religious affiliation. In addition to religion, the participants’ most important determinants in their perceptions involved tourism, Turkish television series, and sports activities. The students who stated knowing about Türkiye through tourism and vacation regions were found to generally be from Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

The students who stated having information about Türkiye through Turkish TV series were observed to generally be from Central Asian countries. Meanwhile, the students from West Africa, Central Asia, and North Asia were found to have obtained information about Türkiye as a result of sports activities. Some students from the African continent stated knowing Türkiye as a state with an Arab population.

As a result, existing plans should be updated by taking into account the strategic benefits of this field in order to be more successful with regard to international military education. The fact that students in the mentioned regions had very limited knowledge about Türkiye can be evaluated as a limited dimension of soft power in the region. In this context, military attachés, especially foreign missions, can be seen to need to implement various measures to increase soft power. However, the need for a professional structure to maintain the vitality of existing warm relations appears essential in terms of students’ selection and promotion activities prior to coming to Türkiye, their cultural interaction and adjustment after arriving, their satisfaction criteria, their expectations, and their alumni network after their education and return to their countries. Without the establishment of this structure and the support of effective activities, Türkiye appears unlikely to be an effective actor regarding international competition in the field of international military education.