Turkish Perceptions Survey 2015

Turkey is going through challenging times. On the political front, the governing Justice and Development Party (AKParty) lost its majority in the parliament in the elections that took place on June 7, 2015, resulting in a hung parliament. As the parties in the parliament failed to form a government, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his authority to call for early elections in November 2015. Meanwhile, Turkey is still feeling the effects of the economic crisis: growth rates remain low, around 2.5% annually, and the Turkish lira continues to devalue. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) has declined to levels last seen during the 2009 financial crisis.

 

Things are not any brighter on the foreign policy and security front. The turmoil in Iraq and Syria continues to challenge Turkey with spillover effects. The self-proclaimed Islamic State group (ISIS) has started to conduct terrorist attacks in Turkey, and the cease-fire between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been broken. In response to these developments, Turkey opened the Incirlik airbase to the U.S. air force for airstrikes against ISIS, agreed to actively join the fight against ISIS in coordination with the United States, and launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq. The refugee crisis is another major challenge for Turkey: the official number of Syrian refugees Turkey currently hosts has increased to 1.7 million, and Turkey has spent $5.6 million for the Syrian refugees.

 

The Turkish Perceptions Survey shows the impact of these breathtaking developments on the opinions of Turkish citizens on both domestic and foreign policy issues.