ANKARA: A new international study has found remarkable results on polarization growth in Turkey this year.
The study, by the US German Marshall Fund and Istanbul Bilgi University Center for Migration Research with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Organization (SIDA), published its findings on December 22, revealing social distance, political intolerance and echo chambers within Turkish society.
The study, titled “Polarization Sizes in Turkey 2020”, was conducted through face-to-face interviews across 29 cities with about 4,000 representing Turkey’s adult population. The results were announced Tuesday morning.
Among supporters of the political party, the US is seen as the biggest threat, followed by Israel and Russia.
Eighty-six percent of respondents want 4 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey to return home, while this trend rises to 93 percent among supporters CHP.
As an obvious sign of political polarization, people have created a social distance from others who have the “farthest” political line to their own.
While 72 per cent of participants do not want to do business with supporters of the “farthest” political party, some 60 per cent do not want them as neighbors. Another 66 per cent said they do not want their children to play with the children of supporters of that political party, and 75 per cent do not want their children to marry the children of the party “other” political.
Professor Emre Erdogan, an academic from Istanbul Bilgi University and the scientific coordinator of the study, said the study showed a decrease in willingness to live together among supporters of different political parties.
“This is a polarization both politically and emotionally, and it is becoming a major problem for the country,” he told Arab News.
70 per cent of CHP supporters, 67 per cent of HDP supporters and 65 per cent of IYI Party supporters believe that social inequality in the country has grown over the past year , with the failed coup attempt, Kurdish conflict and the active presidential system that provide President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with too much power as the hot topics for dissent.
Paul T. Levin, director of the Stockholm University Institute of Turkish Studies, believes that polarization is part of, or at least the result of, government strategy.
“President Erdogan himself has long used segregated astronomy and has portrayed his political opponents as videos, terrorists or enemies of the state,” he told Arab News, which adding that the media attached to the government have also been criticizing critics and contributing to the polarization in the country.
The study shows that polarization also deepens with some controversial issues. Supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its national group MHP strongly support scathing projects such as the Kanal Istanbul artificial waterway project or the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, while opposed by supporters of the opposition party.
“The timing of Hagia Sophia’s decision may have been related to the need for support among key supporters of Erdogan and AKP in times of crisis. However, it was a big card to play for a relatively small win at home and inevitably surpassing views about Turkey in the Western Christian and Orthodox world, ”he said. Nora Fisher Onar, a Turkish expert from the University of San Francisco’s International Studies department, told Arab News.
“Another aspect of domestic regulation that has been polarizing is the involvement of government in an effort to divert resources from or block high-volume provisions of public goods as primary. transport structure, ”she said.
Instead, the education in the mother tongue for the Kurdish community gathers party supporters against pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) supporters.
But supporters of the opposition parties oppose the appointment of trustees to the Kurdish-led urban areas with half the population against them.
A majority of respondents do not use Twitter (63 percent) and Facebook (66 percent) as a way to share their political views.
Half of the respondents believe that the economy and unemployment are the most important problems in the country, followed by inflation rates. Eighty percent of AKP supporters believe their views are represented in the country’s governance, while this rate is only 13.6 percent among CHP supporters and 8.1 percent among HDP supporters.
Opposition party supporters tend to move abroad if given the chance. One-third of CHP supporters and nearly half of HDP supporters would think about immigration to find a better job, for better opportunities for personal freedom and because of a loss of hope about the country’s future .
“Unemployment, poverty and a lack of political sentiment are the main factors weakening the citizenship connection of HDP supporters,” he said. Erdogan.
Ninety percent of HDP supporters, 80 percent of CHP supporters and 69 percent of IYI Party supporters do not think the elections are being held fairly in Turkey.
“This vision strengthens people’s political strength and pushes them to emigrate to other countries where they would be better represented on political spheres by democratic elections,” he said. Erdogan.
77 per cent of AKP supporters feel “emotional” connected to the country, and this rate drops to 65 per cent among CHP supporters and 45 per cent among HDP supporters.
According to Onar, Ankara’s proven regional policies are more of a concern for HDP voters – especially regarding Syria and Iraq – and for the more advanced elements in the CHP, but the right AKP-MHP national coalition is looking at them and also for some inside the center-right and left national IYI party.
“The more you polarize by instilling a strong sense of ‘them’ against ‘us’ the more you can generate enthusiastic support from your followers. But then it becomes harder to govern, calling for more polarization to stay in power and make it even harder to regulate. This will be a vicious circle, ”she said.