An Assessment of Police Legitimacy and Public Cooperation on Counterterrorism in Turkey
Öz
Winning the hearts and minds of the people is the key element for successful law enforcement agencies. This is particularly true of terrorism and counterterrorism. Despite the fact that terrorism has been an important problem around the World since the September 11 terrorist attacks, it has been one of the most important problems Turkey faces because the Turkish State has been combating against terrorist organizations for the last four decades. Therefore, the Turkish government has developed and implemented different counterterrorism measures including military operations, criminal proceedings, and even negotiation with terrorists. Terrorist organizations attempt to gain public support in order to maintain their existence and operate their activities; on the other hand, gaining the public support is also crucial for governments to combat against terrorism. The aim of this study is to explore determinants of public support for cooperation on counterterrorism with law enforcement agencies. By understanding public attitudes toward the police and government policies, authorities can make efforts to improve public attitudes since public trust and cooperation are essential to policing policies and practices. A great deal of research has been conducted on police legitimacy and public cooperation with the police. However, research on public cooperation with the police in terms of terrorism has been very limited. Using the instrumental and normative perspectives, this study aimed to uncover the influence of the deterrence and legitimacy models on people’s views of cooperation. The present study analyzes survey data from 113 public school teachers in one of the districts of Diyarbakir province of Turkey to understand the public views about police legitimacy and cooperation with the police acting against terrorism. The study finds that the vast majority of respondents regard the police legitimate and are willing to cooperate with the police. The results also suggest that community voice, social discrimantion, public policing measures, police effectiveness, religiosity, and seriousness of terror risk have a significant influence on participants’ attitudes toward cooperation with the police
Anahtar Kelimeler
Legitimacy,Cooperation,Counterrorism,Public Support,Policing
Kaynakça
- Aras, R. (2014). ʻʻState sovereignty and politics of fear: Ethnography of political violence and the Kurdish struggle in Turkey’’, In the Kurdish Question in Turkey: New Perspectives on Violence, Representation, and Reconciliation, edited by C. Gunes and W. Zeydanlıoğlu, 89-113. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Aydinli, E. and Ozcan, N. A. (2011). ʻʻThe Conflict Resolution and Counterterrorism Dilemma: Turkey Faces its Kurdish Question’’,Terrorism and Political Violence, 23: 438-457.
- Bacik, G. and Coskun, B. B. (2011). ʻʻThe PKK Problem: Explaining Turkey’s Failure to Develop a Political Solution’’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 34: 248-265.
- Barkey, H. J. (2007). ʻʻTurkey and the PKK: A Pyrrhic Victory.’’ In Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past, edited by Robert J. Art and L. Richardson, 343-381. Washington, DC.:United State Institute of Peace.
- Boke, K. (2013). ʻʻTurkey’’, In Community Policing in Indigenous Communities, edited byM. K . Nalla and G. R . Newman, 349-354. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
- Calislar, O. (2013). ʻʻThe Kurdish Issue in Turkey: Its Social, Political, and Cultural Dimensions,’’ In Understanding Turkey’s Kurdish Question, edited by Fevzi Bilginand AliSarihan, 29-46. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
- Criss, N.B. (1995). ʻʻThe Nature of PKK Terrorism in Turkey’’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 18: 17-37.
- Crenshaw, M. (2000). ʻʻThe Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century’’, Political Psychology 21(2): 405-420.
- Derin-Gure, P. (2011). ʻʻSeparatist Terrorism and Economic Conditions in South-Eastern Turkey’’, Defence & Peace Economics, 22(4): 393-407.
- Durna, T. and Hancerli, S. (2007). ʻʻImplementing Democratic Policing in the PKK Terrorism Torn Areas of Turkey’’, In Understanding and Responding to the Terrorism Phenomenon: A Multi-Dimensional Perspective, edited by Ozgur Nikbay and Suleyman Hancerli,326-338. Netherlands, IOS Press.