TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

IFJ-INTENATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALİST PEW RESARCHR CENTER: In May 2023, voters in Turkey elected Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his third term as president. Less than a year later, Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP) suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat in local elections. In the time between these two elections, Pew Research Center surveyed 1,049 Turkish adults. The results show negative opinions of Erdoğan and mixed views of the national government he leads. Overall, 55% of Turkish adults have an unfavorable opinion of Erdoğan, while 43% have a favorable opinion. This marks a 32 percentage point decrease in favorability from 2017, including a 27-point drop in the share of Turks with a very favorable opinion of their president. The 2017 survey was conducted eight months after Erdoğan and his government survived a coup attempt by a faction of the military. Support for Erdoğan is a key factor in Turkish public opinion on domestic and international topics alike. Compared with those who have an unfavorable opinion of the president, Turkish adults who see Erdoğan favorably are: Age is another key indicator of public opinion on several topics. For example, adults ages 50 and older are more positive toward Erdoğan and the national government when compared with adults ages 18 to 34. Frequency of prayer among the 98% of Turks who are Muslim is also tied to views of multiple issues. Muslim adults who pray more frequently (one of the Center’s measures of religiosity) have more confidence that the 2023 election was conducted fairly and accurately, for instance. Below are some other key findings from the survey, which marks the first time since 2019 that Pew Research Center has polled in Turkey. Confidence in the government A chart showing that About half of Turks do not trust their government to serve national interests Overall, Turkish adults express limited confidence in their national government. Roughly half (51%) say they do not trust the government to do what is right for the country. A similar share (53%) is not confident that the May 2023 presidential election was conducted fairly and accurately. And about a year after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey – leaving more than 50,000 dead – 61% of Turks are not confident that the government will take the necessary steps to prepare for future natural disasters. Jump to Chapter 1 for more on how people in Turkey view their government. Views of democracy Is Turkey a democracy? Turkey is a parliamentary democracy, according to its constitution. In practice, the government is classified as a “hybrid regime” by the Economist Intelligence Unit, an “electoral autocracy” by the Varieties of Democracy project, and “not free” by Freedom House. Two-thirds of Turks are dissatisfied with the way democracy is currently working in their country. But democracy itself – in both representative and direct form – is still a popular idea. Majorities of Turks say representative and direct democracy would be good ways to govern Turkey (80% and 79%, respectively). And 59% say rule by experts, sometimes called technocracy, would be a good system of government. A bar chart showing that Erdoğan supporters are much more open to rule by a strong leader than nonsupporters are Much smaller shares say rule by a strong leader (34%) or by the military (14%) are good options. However, Turks with a positive view of Erdoğan are significantly more likely than nonsupporters to say each of these nondemocratic systems would be a good way to govern Turkey. Jump to Chapter 2 for more on how people in Turkey view democracy. Views of institutions and societal conflicts A bar chart showing that Turks see the police and military as having a positive impact on the country In Turkey, majorities say the police and the military have a positive impact on Turkish society (78% and 62%, respectively). On the other hand, a third of adults or fewer say the media, large international companies, and banks and other financial institutions have a positive influence. When it comes to tensions within their society, Turks see especially strong conflicts between people who support different political parties. Fewer Turks – though still a majority – say there are strong conflicts between people with different ethnic identities. Notably, in a country where a vast majority of people are Muslim, about half of adults (47%) say there are strong conflicts between Turks who practice different religions. Jump to Chapter 3 for more on how people in Turkey view institutions and conflicts in their society. Views of international affairs A bar chart showing that 8 in 10 Turkish adults have an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. When it comes to foreign relations, Turks give mostly negative ratings to other countries and their leaders. Majorities have unfavorable opinions of the United States,