GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF FORCE

Year 2023, Volume: 25 Issue: 3, 1328 - 1345, 15.09.2023

Pınar Sayan

https://doi.org/10.16953/deusosbil.1249916

Abstract

The existence of gender differences in public attitudes has long been debated and it is maintained that women and men have different attitudes towards certain policy areas. One of those areas is the use of force in foreign policy. Women are less supportive of the use of force in foreign policy than men. The reasons for these differences have been tried to be explained through the impact of the factors such as partisanship or ideology; economic marginalization; political marginalization; negative responses to war casualties; feminist consciousness; motherhood; socialization; issue salience. While public opinion surveys have been regularly conducted on foreign policy in Turkey, the gender dimension is rather understudied. In this article, I first argue that there are gender differences in public perceptions towards the use of force in Turkey and I aim to explore the reasons for these differences based on two sets of focus group discussions data gathered in 2021 and 2022.

Keywords

Foreign Policy, Public Perceptions, Gender, Turkey.

GÜÇ KULLANIMI KONUSUNDA KAMUOYU ALGILARINDAKİ TOPLUMSAL CİNSİYET FARKLILIKLARI

Abstract

Kamuoyu algıları konusunda toplumsal cinsiyetin bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığı uzun süredir tartışılmış ve kadın ve erkeklerin belirli politika alanlarında farklı algıları olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bu alanlardan biri dış politikada güç kullanımıdır. Kadınlar dış politikada güç kullanımına erkeklerden daha az destek vermektedir. Bu farklılığın nedenleri parti aidiyeti ya da ideoloji, ekonomik marjinalleşme, siyasi marjinalleşme, savaş kayıplarına verilen negatif tepkiler, feminist bilinç, annelik, sosyalleşme ve konuların önemi faktörleri çerçevesinde açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Türkiye’de dış politika algılarına yönelik kamuoyu araştırmaları uzun süredir yapılmasına rağmen konunun toplumsal cinsiyet boyutu yeterince çalışılmamıştır. Bu makalede, Türkiye’de güç kullanımına yönelik kamuoyu algılarında toplumsal cinsiyet farklılıkları olduğu öne sürülerek, bu farklılıkların nedenleri 2021 ve 2022’de toplanmış iki odak grup tartışması verisi temel alınarak açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır.

Keywords

Dış Politika, Kamuoyu Algıları, Toplumsal Cinsiyet

References

• Adar, S. & Toygür, S. (2020). Turkey, the EU and the Eastern Mediterranean crisis: Militarization of foreign policy and power rivalry. SWP Comment 62.
• Akgün, M., Gündoğar, S. S., Görgülü, A. & Aydın, E. (2011). Türkiye’de dış politika algısı. TESEV Dış Politika Programı.
• Aksoy, H. A. (2021). Excursus: Turkey’s military engagement abroad. Centre for Applied Turkey Studies. https://www.cats-network.eu/topics/visualizing-turkeys-foreign-policy-activism/excursus-turkeys-military-engagement-abroad/, Access Date: 20.06.2023.
• Altınay, A. G. (2004). The myth of the military-nation: Militarism, gender and education in Turkey. New York: Palgrave.
• Bardes, B. & Oldendick, R. (1978). Beyond internationalism: A case for multiple dimensions in the structure of foreign policy attitudes. Social Science Quarterly, 59 (3), 496-508.
• Bendyna, M. E., Finucane, T., Kirby, L., O’Donnell, J. P. & Wilcox, C. (1996). Gender differences in public attitudes toward the Gulf War: A test of competing hypotheses. The Social Science Journal, 33 (1), 1-22.
• Chodorow, N. (1978). The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Clements, B. & Thomson, C. P. (2022). The ‘ultimate insurance’ or an ‘irrelevance’ for national security needs? Partisanship, foreign policy attitudes, and the gender gap in British public opinion towards nuclear weapons. European Journal of International Security, 7 (3), 360-381.
• Conover, P. (1988). Feminists and the gender gap. The Journal of Politics, 50 (4), 985-1010.
• Conover, P. J., & Sapiro, V. (1993). Gender, feminist consciousness, and war. American Journal of Political Science, 37 (4), 1079-1099.
• Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (eds.) (2017). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
• Eichenberg, R. C. (2003). Gender differences in public attitudes toward the use of force the United States, 1990-2003. International Security, 28 (1), 110-141.
• Fite, D., Genest, M. & Wilcox, C. (1990). Gender differences in foreign policy attitudes: A longitudinal analysis. American Politics Quarterly, 18 (4), 492-513.
• Frankovich, K. A. (1982). Sex and politics: New alignments, old issues. Political Science, 15 (3), 439-448.
• Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge: Harvard University. Global Academy. Public perceptions on Turkish foreign policy. https://www.globacademy.org/en/service/public-perceptions-on-turkish-foreign-policy/, Access Date: 20.06.2023.
• GMF. (2015). Türkiye’nin algıları araştırması. The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
• GMF. (2022). Avrupa Birliği algıları araştırması. The German Marshall Fund of the United States. https://www.gmfus.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/Turkish%20Perceptions%20of%20the%20EU%202022%20-%20Turkish%20%281%29.pdf. Access Date: 20.06.2023.
• Hansen, M., Clemens, J. & Dolan, K. (2022). Gender gaps, partisan gaps, and cross-pressures: An examination of American attitudes toward the use of force. Politics & Gender, 18(1), 273-295.
• Hartsock, N. (1983). Money, sex and power: Toward a feminist historical materialism. New York: Longman.
• Huddy, L., Cassese, E., & Lizotte, M. (2008). Gender, public opinion, and political reasoning. Political women and American democracy, (eds. Wolbrecht, C., Beckwith, K., Baldez, L.) Cambridge University Press, 31-49.
• Kardaş, Ş. (2020). Turkey’s Libya policy: Militarization of regional policies and escalation dominance. China International Strategy Review 2, 325-336.
• Kıratlı, O. S. (2016). Türkiye’de dış politika kamuoyu algılamalarının temelleri. http://web.boun.edu.tr/osmansabri.kiratli/uploads/9/3/9/8/93985413/dispolitikakamuoyu-bogazici.pdf. Access Date: 20.06.2023.
• Lizotte, M. (2017). Gender, partisanship, and issue gaps. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 17 (1), 379-405.
• Lynn, N. (1975). Women in American politics: An overview. Women: A feminist perspective, (ed. Freeman, J.), California: Mayfield Publishing Co.
• Maggiotto, M. A. & Wittkopft, E. R. (1981). American public attitudes toward foreign policy. International Studies Quarterly, 25 (4), 601-631.
• Martins, B. O., Tank, P. & İşleyen, B. (2023). Turkish drones as a foreign policy tool. PRIO Mideast Policy Brief 01.
• Mehmetcik, H. & Çelik, A. C. (2022). The militarization of Turkish foreign policy. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 24 (1), 24-41.
• Ruddick, S. (1985). Maternal work and the practice of peace. The Journal of Education, 167 (3), 97-111.
• Sayan, P. & Dizdaroğlu, C. (2022). Approaches to and perceptions of foreign policy in Turkey-2022. İstanbul Political Research Institute.
• Sayan, P. & Şar, E. (2021). Approaches to and perceptions of foreign policy in Turkey-2021. İstanbul Political Research Institute.
• Shapiro, R. Y. & Mahajan, H. (1986). Gender differences in policy preferences: A summary of trends from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 50 (1), 42-61.
• Sünbülüoğlu, N. Y. (2013). (eds.) Erkek millet asker millet: Türkiye'de militarizm, milliyetçilik, erkek(lik)ler, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
• Togeby, L. (1994). The gender gap in foreign policy attitudes. Journal of Peace Research, 31 (4), 375-392.
• Wilcox, C., Hewitt, L. & Allsop, D. (1996). The gender gap in attitudes toward the Gulf War: A Cross-National Perspective. Journal of Peace Research, 33 (1), 67-82.
• Wirls, D. (1986). Reinterpreting the gender gap. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 50 (3), 316-330.
• Wittkopft, E. R. (1981). The structure of foreign policy attitudes: An alternative view. Social Science Quarterly, 62, 108-123.
• Wittkopf, E. R. & Maggiotto, M. (1983). Elites and masses: A comparative analysis of attitudes toward America’s world role. The Journal of Politics, 45 (2), 303-334.