Survey: US, Israel Seen as Greatest Threats, Support for EU Membership Rises

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Kadir Has University has published its yearly survey "Turkish Foreign Policy Public Perceptions Research" for 2019.

Accordingly, the public sees Azerbaijan as the closest friend of Turkey and the relations with the US as the most important problem of Turkey's foreign policy.

How do the participants define themselves?

Among one thousand participants of the survey, 27 percent defined themselves as "religious", 23.5 percent as "nationalist", 18.5 percent as "republican/Kemalist", 10.4 percent as "conservative", 9.5 percent as "social democrat", 3.8 percent as "socialist", 2.4 percent as "nationalitarian."

Compared to the past year, the total percentage of those who call themselves "religious" and "conservative" decreased by 7 percent from 44.4 percent.

Where do people get news on foreign policy?

Television is the most common source for news on the foreign policy of Turkey as 87.4 percent of the participants said they get news from TV. ıt is followed by social networks (45.7%), news portals (44.8%) and newspapers (20.6%).

What is the most important problem for Turkey's foreign policy?

According to 20.6 percent of the participants, the most important problem for the foreign policy of Turkey is the relations with the US, while it is the "cross border terrorism" for 18.3 percent. The Syrian war, which was recorded as the most important problem in last year's survey, has been seen as the third most important problem this year.

Do people know about the S-400s and the F-35s?

When asked about "What is the S-400?" 19.6 percent of the participants replied, "missile", 10 percent replied, "Russia's missiles", 9.3 percent replied, "air defense system", 7.3 percent replied, "Russia's air defense system", 2.7 percent replied, "fighter plane", 2.1 percent replied, "plane", 1.5 percent replied, "Russian plane", and 0.9 percent replied, "fighter plane of Russia."

In other words, the percentage of those who said it is some kind of a missile was 50.9 while 7.1 percent said it is some kind of a plane. 37.4 percent said they have not heard about the S-400.

As for the F-35, 22.9 percent said it is a "fighter plane", 17 percent said "plane", 3.4 percent said, "American plane", 2.9 percent said, "American fighter plane", 2.5 percent said, "the fighter plane that we will buy from America", 1.4 percent said, "American missile", and 1.4 percent said, "the fighter plane that is jointly produced with America".

While 48.7 percent said it is some kind of a plane, 41.1 percent said they have not heard about it.

Should Turkey buy the S-400s?

When asked about if Turkey should buy the S-400 air defense systems from Russia despite NATO's discomfort and threats of sanctions from the US, 44 percent of the participants said Turkey should buy the systems while 24.9 percent said it should not.

Who is the most influential person on foreign policy?

According to 72.2 percent of the participants, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the most influential person in the foreign policy. This number was 68.8 percent in last year's survey.

When asked about what should be done for a "more effective Turkish foreign policy," 62 percent said, "Political relations with other countries should be strengthened. 33.9 percent said economic relations should be strengthened.

Who is the closest friend of Turkey?

Azerbaijan is the closest friend of Turkey, 65.3 percent of the participants said. It was also first in last year's survey, with 59 percent of the participants saying it is the closest friend. Azerbaijan is followed by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a country that is not recognized by any other state than Turkey, and the Turkic states in Central Asia.

Which countries pose the greatest threats for Turkey?

The US and Israel are seen as the two countries who are the biggest threats for Turkey, with 81.3 percent and 70.8 percent of the participants saying they are a threat for Turkey. The US is "unreliable" according to 39.4 percent of the participants and a "colonialist country" for 22.6 percent. In last year's survey, 60.2 percent said the US is a threat.

When asked about what is the most important problem between Turkey and the US, 60.5 percent said, "fight against terrorism" and 37.3 percent said "the US support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian Kurdish entity which Turkey sees as a terrorist organization.

Do people support Turkey's membership to the EU?

People's support for Turkey's membership of the European Union increased from 55.1 percent to 61.1 percent compared to last year's survey.

60.8 percent of the participants also said Turkey's membership to NATO should continue, while 50.3 percent said the membership contributes to Turkey.

How should Turkey's Syrian policies be?

42.1 percent of the participants said Turkey should remain neutral and should not intervene in Syria while 13.3 percent said its role should be limited to aiding refugees.

What do people think about Syrian refugees?

The percentage of those who say they are content with Syrian refugees dropped to 7 percent from 13.6 percent compared to last year's survey. 57.6 percent said Turkey should end receiving Syrian refugees. (HA/VK)