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ANTI-AMERICANISM HITS NEW RECORD IN TURKEY
Today's Zaman, Turkey
June 29 2007
The Turkish public dislikes the United States more than any other
nation in the world, while leading global actors such as the European
Union, Russia, Iran, China and Israel are also falling from favor
with a majority of Turks, according to a global survey released
on Wednesday.
The 47-country survey found that only 9 percent of the Turkish
people have a favorable opinion of the US, while 83 percent responded
negatively. The Pew Global Attitudes Project documented that only 2
percent of those surveyed in Turkey had a favorable opinion about US
President George W. Bush's foreign policy, while 88 percent responded
in the negative. The project has documented wide anti-American
sentiment since it was launched in 2002 but found those attitudes
deepening this year. In 2002, 52 percent of Turks supported the US
compared to this year's 9 percent.
Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut, speaking to the United
States' PBS television station on the results of the survey, said
respondents in Turkey holding a favorable opinion of the US amounted
to 12 percent, a figure they did not expect would go down.
The Pew survey found that 81 percent of Turkish respondents were
critical of "American Ideas about Democracy," while 83 percent had a
negative view of "American Ways of Doing Business." A full 22 percent
expressed positive views of US movies and music.
The survey also showed that support for the European Union was steadily
decreasing among Turks. The Pew survey found that only 27 percent of
respondents in Turkey were positive about the European Union, compared
to 58 percent in 2004. Russia's image has also been slipping in Turkey,
with a majority stating a negative opinion of Russia. Only 10 percent
expressed support for President Vladimir Putin's policies. Turkish
support for China was extremely low, and the favorable view of
Iran slipped to 28 percent this year after totaling 53 percent in
2006. Only 4 percent of those surveyed in Turkey expressed a positive
view of Israel. When it came to terrorist Osama bin Laden, only one
place -- the Palestinian territories -- viewed him favorably, with
57 percent saying they had confidence in him. In Turkey that number
was 5 percent. A total of 931 individuals from Turkey participated
in the survey conducted in April and May. Is the average Turkish
individual in today's world more readily influenced by nationalist
and neo-nationalist movements? The answer is "yes" according to Omer
Laciner, editor in chief of the socialist monthly Birikim, which
has put considerable effort into understanding nationalism since
the 1970s. But this affirmation applies not only to Turkey, but to
all countries of the world. Indeed, the summary of findings for the
complete survey report presented by Pew found that the United States'
image is plummeting in many corners of the globe, but China and other
large powers are falling from favor as well.
"Turkey is going through a strange period," Laciner told Today's
Zaman in a telephone interview. "The process of globalization, or
whatever one might choose to call it, being in the global arena in
competition, leads people to question the values they have taken
as authentic characteristics of their own nation." For example,
a person who believes their nation is "the most" hospitable in the
world might, in the global world, find herself in a society so open
to guests and strangers to an extent not even acceptable in her own
society. "You are not 'the most' something of the world anymore,"
Laciner explains. "This is the most important reason for the rise
in nationalism along with the increased speed of globalization. Now
people have points of reference." More exposure to realities of an
increasingly global world blurs the line dividing black and white,
friend and foe. "Say, you say maintain Germans are hostile to us,
but then you find groups that are extremely friendly to Turkey." The
realization that the home nation, like other nations of the world,
is not a solid unit in itself creates a need to keep our usual and
old perceptions of the world as we once knew it; thus people turn to
nationalism to cling onto. In this sense, this rise of nationalism
across the globe could be its last. Laciner also emphasized that
nationalist groups in all countries played into each other's hands,
as deeds of nationalists damaging to another nation are usually used
by nationalists of a given country as proof of how the "enemy" nation
really is.
But how can such a notion diffuse through to the individual? The
answer is survival. "Circumstances defining how a person gets by, once
subject only to domestic dynamics, are now influenced by international
dynamics. Something that might happen abroad, such as a new invention
or the downsizing of a global company, could simply ruin the livelihood
of an individual. People are grappling with insecurity." In such
an environment, nationalism, both in Turkey and elsewhere, is the
resonance of such fears."
He underlines that these fears are irrational almost all the time.
Currently, they are crystallized in the person of the United States,
Laciner says, asserting that this could be another country at
a different time. One example is a recent survey simultaneously
conducted in Greece and Turkey which found that for 2.9 percent of
Turks, the 3-million-strong Armenia is a threat for Turkey with a
population of 70 million.
Once the world finds more constructive and humanistic ways to deal
with such insecurities and cope with the realities of the neo-liberal
globe, nationalism could become an ancient notion, Laciner suggested.
Etyen Mahcupyan, editor in chief of the bilingual weekly Agos,
agreed. "There has to be a reason to love a given country. It is a
chaotic, complica ted world in which there is little concern for moral
values. It is a psychological need," he said. According to Mahcupyan,
the decreasing approval of foreign countries in the hearts of the
Turkish people and others is not entirely ungrounded. "These [survey]
results do not reflect a human aversion, rather sensitivity about
foreign policies."
"We are talking about nation-states after their interests, not
individuals. If a state is represented by its foreign policy, then
dislike is understandable." Mahcupyan, similar to Laciner, says
the many states of the international system cannot respond to the
complexities of the world today. "It is not the rise of xenophobia,
but an alienation from the system of states."
Ferhat Kentel, an instructor in the sociology department of �stanbul
Bilgi University, agreed that clinging on to nationalism is a reaction
to increasing doubt, insecurity and a lack of confidence about the
future of the world. He said this finding was confirmed by a recent
study his university conducted on nationalism. The research found
an overwhelming feeling of insecurity towards the future in its
subjects. Kentel maintained that in a world where everything was
increasingly being perceived as a risk by the individual, nationalism
functioned to accommodate the perception of being threatened.
"The hegemonic powers of a society profiting from a web of interest
relations in this chaotic world employ the language of nationalism,
something that serves as a tool to perpetuate the current structure,"
Kentel explained. "We, the ordinary people, repeat their language,
but I doubt we mean the same thing."
Global warming increasingly perceived as major threat
The survey also found global warming and other environmental
problems are seen as the top threat in many places, ahead of nuclear
proliferation, AIDS and other dangers. The United States' favorable
ratings declined in 26 of the 33 countries for which a comparison
was available, with negative views particularly strong in the Middle
East. Overall, majorities in 25 of the 47 countries reported favorable
images of the United States. A majority of those surveyed expressed
unease with China's growing military and economic influence; however,
public opinion in China was positive in South Asia and Africa.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
June 29 2007
The Turkish public dislikes the United States more than any other
nation in the world, while leading global actors such as the European
Union, Russia, Iran, China and Israel are also falling from favor
with a majority of Turks, according to a global survey released
on Wednesday.
The 47-country survey found that only 9 percent of the Turkish
people have a favorable opinion of the US, while 83 percent responded
negatively. The Pew Global Attitudes Project documented that only 2
percent of those surveyed in Turkey had a favorable opinion about US
President George W. Bush's foreign policy, while 88 percent responded
in the negative. The project has documented wide anti-American
sentiment since it was launched in 2002 but found those attitudes
deepening this year. In 2002, 52 percent of Turks supported the US
compared to this year's 9 percent.
Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut, speaking to the United
States' PBS television station on the results of the survey, said
respondents in Turkey holding a favorable opinion of the US amounted
to 12 percent, a figure they did not expect would go down.
The Pew survey found that 81 percent of Turkish respondents were
critical of "American Ideas about Democracy," while 83 percent had a
negative view of "American Ways of Doing Business." A full 22 percent
expressed positive views of US movies and music.
The survey also showed that support for the European Union was steadily
decreasing among Turks. The Pew survey found that only 27 percent of
respondents in Turkey were positive about the European Union, compared
to 58 percent in 2004. Russia's image has also been slipping in Turkey,
with a majority stating a negative opinion of Russia. Only 10 percent
expressed support for President Vladimir Putin's policies. Turkish
support for China was extremely low, and the favorable view of
Iran slipped to 28 percent this year after totaling 53 percent in
2006. Only 4 percent of those surveyed in Turkey expressed a positive
view of Israel. When it came to terrorist Osama bin Laden, only one
place -- the Palestinian territories -- viewed him favorably, with
57 percent saying they had confidence in him. In Turkey that number
was 5 percent. A total of 931 individuals from Turkey participated
in the survey conducted in April and May. Is the average Turkish
individual in today's world more readily influenced by nationalist
and neo-nationalist movements? The answer is "yes" according to Omer
Laciner, editor in chief of the socialist monthly Birikim, which
has put considerable effort into understanding nationalism since
the 1970s. But this affirmation applies not only to Turkey, but to
all countries of the world. Indeed, the summary of findings for the
complete survey report presented by Pew found that the United States'
image is plummeting in many corners of the globe, but China and other
large powers are falling from favor as well.
"Turkey is going through a strange period," Laciner told Today's
Zaman in a telephone interview. "The process of globalization, or
whatever one might choose to call it, being in the global arena in
competition, leads people to question the values they have taken
as authentic characteristics of their own nation." For example,
a person who believes their nation is "the most" hospitable in the
world might, in the global world, find herself in a society so open
to guests and strangers to an extent not even acceptable in her own
society. "You are not 'the most' something of the world anymore,"
Laciner explains. "This is the most important reason for the rise
in nationalism along with the increased speed of globalization. Now
people have points of reference." More exposure to realities of an
increasingly global world blurs the line dividing black and white,
friend and foe. "Say, you say maintain Germans are hostile to us,
but then you find groups that are extremely friendly to Turkey." The
realization that the home nation, like other nations of the world,
is not a solid unit in itself creates a need to keep our usual and
old perceptions of the world as we once knew it; thus people turn to
nationalism to cling onto. In this sense, this rise of nationalism
across the globe could be its last. Laciner also emphasized that
nationalist groups in all countries played into each other's hands,
as deeds of nationalists damaging to another nation are usually used
by nationalists of a given country as proof of how the "enemy" nation
really is.
But how can such a notion diffuse through to the individual? The
answer is survival. "Circumstances defining how a person gets by, once
subject only to domestic dynamics, are now influenced by international
dynamics. Something that might happen abroad, such as a new invention
or the downsizing of a global company, could simply ruin the livelihood
of an individual. People are grappling with insecurity." In such
an environment, nationalism, both in Turkey and elsewhere, is the
resonance of such fears."
He underlines that these fears are irrational almost all the time.
Currently, they are crystallized in the person of the United States,
Laciner says, asserting that this could be another country at
a different time. One example is a recent survey simultaneously
conducted in Greece and Turkey which found that for 2.9 percent of
Turks, the 3-million-strong Armenia is a threat for Turkey with a
population of 70 million.
Once the world finds more constructive and humanistic ways to deal
with such insecurities and cope with the realities of the neo-liberal
globe, nationalism could become an ancient notion, Laciner suggested.
Etyen Mahcupyan, editor in chief of the bilingual weekly Agos,
agreed. "There has to be a reason to love a given country. It is a
chaotic, complica ted world in which there is little concern for moral
values. It is a psychological need," he said. According to Mahcupyan,
the decreasing approval of foreign countries in the hearts of the
Turkish people and others is not entirely ungrounded. "These [survey]
results do not reflect a human aversion, rather sensitivity about
foreign policies."
"We are talking about nation-states after their interests, not
individuals. If a state is represented by its foreign policy, then
dislike is understandable." Mahcupyan, similar to Laciner, says
the many states of the international system cannot respond to the
complexities of the world today. "It is not the rise of xenophobia,
but an alienation from the system of states."
Ferhat Kentel, an instructor in the sociology department of �stanbul
Bilgi University, agreed that clinging on to nationalism is a reaction
to increasing doubt, insecurity and a lack of confidence about the
future of the world. He said this finding was confirmed by a recent
study his university conducted on nationalism. The research found
an overwhelming feeling of insecurity towards the future in its
subjects. Kentel maintained that in a world where everything was
increasingly being perceived as a risk by the individual, nationalism
functioned to accommodate the perception of being threatened.
"The hegemonic powers of a society profiting from a web of interest
relations in this chaotic world employ the language of nationalism,
something that serves as a tool to perpetuate the current structure,"
Kentel explained. "We, the ordinary people, repeat their language,
but I doubt we mean the same thing."
Global warming increasingly perceived as major threat
The survey also found global warming and other environmental
problems are seen as the top threat in many places, ahead of nuclear
proliferation, AIDS and other dangers. The United States' favorable
ratings declined in 26 of the 33 countries for which a comparison
was available, with negative views particularly strong in the Middle
East. Overall, majorities in 25 of the 47 countries reported favorable
images of the United States. A majority of those surveyed expressed
unease with China's growing military and economic influence; however,
public opinion in China was positive in South Asia and Africa.
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