Turkey ranks 12th in soft power rankings

WASHINGTON

Palestinian students hold up a picture of PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Gaza.

Turkey ranked 12th among the most developed soft powers in the world, according to recent research by the Skolkovo-E&Y Institute.

The United States ranked as the first soft power followed by France, Germany and the U.K. respectively, according to the research the Financial Times reported Dec. 19.

Turkey scored 12.9 points in 2010 compared to 10.3 points in 2005. Turkey received its highest score in 2008 with 14.4 points.

Despite the recent financial crisis and the poor performance of Wall Street institutions, the U.S. scored 87 points in 2010, a full 37 points ahead of second place France and an enormous 56 points better than China, remaining undisputed worldwide in soft power.

The U.S. did well in eight out of 10 categories. Immigration (total of foreign-born immigrants), universities (quantity of globally ranked universities) and media exports (the royalties and fees earned from the export of goods such as films, music and books) provided the biggest boost to the U.S. soft power.
Unlike any of the other emerging powers, China’s soft power is almost exclusively derived from its sheer size. China’s soft power within the emerging world is primarily driven by the growth and visibility of its multi-national corporations, increased tourism and the rapid expansion and ranking of its universities.
Russia may score third among the emerging power nations but it is a one-trick pony when it comes to its soft power. Russia’s soft power derived from one category – immigration (to Russia from the former Soviet republics).