A PESTLE-Based Dashboard for Soft Power Measurement: The Türkiye Application (2010–2020)

Soft power, though frequently referenced in international relations scholarship in recent years, complicates the development of a consistent analytical framework due to its ill-defined boundaries and the persistent ambiguity surrounding measurement criteria. To address this methodological gap, this study proposes a three-dimensional measurement model integrated with PESTLE analysis. The model conceptualises soft power across resources (cultural production, education, humanitarian aid), communication (diplomatic networks, media, digital platforms), and legitimacy (international trust and acceptance), and operationalises indicators along the PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental) axes, grounded in concrete data. The study’s primary contribution is that, rather than collapsing soft power into a single composite score, it introduces a transparent “indicator dashboard†that can be monitored across intersecting PESTLE×resources–communication–legitimacy layers. This layered approach enables the separation of soft power’s components and makes a country’s strengths and areas for improvement more visible. An application focusing on Türkiye over the 2010–2020 period demonstrates the framework’s utility for both identifying policy priorities and analysing underlying components. In conclusion, the study seeks to reduce conceptual ambiguity, standardise measurability, and offer an assessment framework that is applicable to both academia and policymakers.