AN ANALYTICAL AND QUALITATIVE APPROACH TO THE ROLE OF SHARP POWER AND ITS INSTRUMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN POLICY: 2001-2025

Abstract: The period 2001-2025 has witnessed an epistemic transformation in the power structures of the international system. This research analyzes the role of sharp power in foreign policy strategies through a qualitative and analytical perspective. The research question focuses on how the role of sharp power and its instruments in states' foreign policy strategies changed during 2001-2025, and how this transformation reshaped global power competition. The study develops a multi-layered theoretical framework by integrating Foucault's knowledge-power nexus, Buzan and Wæver's securitization theory, Guzzini's relational power approach, and Rumelili's identity analysis. Through comparative multiple-case design, sharp power practices of the United States, Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, and Republic of Türkiye were analyzed using discourse analysis and document examination methods. Findings reveal that sharp power relies approximately seventy percent on epistemic control, twenty percent on discursive hegemony, and ten percent on structural infrastructure dominance. The research contributes to power typologies by conceptualizing sharp power not as a deviation of soft power but as an independent epistemic power form. The study empirically demonstrates how information manipulation, digital influence, and normative legitimacy engineering transform the structure of international order.