RESULTS OF USAK’S 4TH TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY SURVEYS WERE RELEASED
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Monday, 17 August 2009
The results of USAK’s 4th Turkish Foreign Policy Perception Survey
were published on 14 August 2009. The survey was conducted among 1,110
interviewees in four major Turkish cities (Ankara, Istanbul,Izmir
and Bursa) and obtained significant results regarding the perceptions
of Turkish people towards Turkish foreign policy issues. The results
were analyzed in detail by USAK experts.
According to the USAK Foreign Policy Perception Survey, although
there is a 4.35-point decrease in respondents who consider the US
a threat, compared to the Bush era, the country is still viewed as
the largest threat. Another striking figure is related to Turkey’s
long-standing competitor in the Aegean Sea, Greece. According to the
list of countries, the perception of Greece as a threat dropped by 3.20
points due to the softening relations between the two countries. On
the contrary, there is a surprising increase in the threat perception
of Turkish people towards France and Israel. Israel’s negative figures,
in particular, have been increasing rapidly through recent surveys. On
the other hand, the main reason behind the negative attitude towards
France can be easily explained by Sarkozy’s prominent role in the
stalemate in Turkey-EU relations and the increasing activities of
the French Armenian lobby against Turkey.
Another question aiming to test the Turkish people’s perceptions of
friendship revealed significant results when compared to previous
surveys. Azerbaijan, with a 5.84-point increase, preserved its first
rank position as a true friend of Turkey. The Friendship Perception
Index showed extremely striking figures. First, Germany, which was
7th in the earlier ranking with 4.80%, lost its place and did not
gain even 1%. The USAK experts related this sharp decrease to the
policies followed during the Merkel era. Taking into account the
growing number of Turks working and living in Germany, these results
are both surprising and worrying. Second, it is significant that
the US has jumped in the list from 12th to 3rd place. The improved
relations in the Obama era can also explain this shift.
56.36% of the Turkish people see Turkey’s future in the European
Union. There is a 1.36-point increase in respondents choosing the EU
option compared to the previous survey conducted in 2005.
According to the World Peace Threat Index, the US, Israel and Russia
hold the first three places. The surveyors found that the underlying
reason behind the rise in the level of reaction against Russia is
the recent Russia-Georgia War and Russia’s aggressive stance in
that region.
One of the questions in the survey tries to figure out Turkish
public opinion on Turkish foreign policy’s efficiency and success. A
significant increase was observed in the number of respondents who
consider Turkish foreign policy successful.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
