Türkiye’s Humanitarian Diplomacy Efforts During Pandemic Era: Scope and Challenges

Abstract

There is no universally agreed-upon definition of the term humanitarian diplomacy, which covers activities carried out to meet the urgent needs and alleviate the suffering of victims of humanitarian crises, natural disasters, or man-made disasters such as civil war. This concept, which has been widely used in the International Relations literature during the 2000s, aims to mobilize both public and government support and resources for humanitarian activities and programs. In this framework, various actors including International Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, private sector, and individuals operate along with the states. The COVID-19 pandemic, which was first reported by officials in Wuhan City, China, on December 31, 2019, has caused the death of millions of people, disrupted the international economy, and changed all aspects of social life with its ravages. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the whole world and turning into a global crisis, all national and international actors, especially the states, have been insufficient in terms of their capacity to manage the crisis. During this humanitarian crisis process, where there has been a need for solidarity and cooperation at various levels among all national and international actors, Türkiye has taken initiatives for humanitarian diplomacy activities beyond its borders, while struggling against this disease within its own borders. In this context, Turkish authorities have stated that “Türkiye will continue to put forward its initiatives for the recuperation from this calamity of humanity in cooperation and solidarity, and use the lessons learnt to pave the way for a fairer, share-based and effective structure of the international system in the post-pandemic World”. The aim of this study, in which Türkiye’s humanitarian diplomacy practices during the COVID-19 pandemic process are analyzed, is to reveal how Türkiye’s humanitarian diplomacy activities during the pandemic process have become operational. In this framework, this study focuses initially on the elaboration of the concept of Humanitarian Diplomacy. Then, the impact of the COVID-19 process on Türkiye’s humanitarian diplomacy activities, and the domain and limitations of these activities will be discussed.