Social Distance in Today's Istanbul: Politics and Exceptionalism

Abstract

A May 2011 survey of 999 residents of Istanbul reveals high levels of intolerance towards members of many social identities in Turkey. With the exception of people perceived to be ethnically „Turkish‟ or „Dindar‟ (religiously observant), the respondents rejected close social interaction with other ethnic (particularly Kurdish), national (especially American and Greek), religious (specifically Jewish and Atheist), or sexual (namely homosexual) identities. Further, large percentages of the respondents preferred that members of these „other‟ identities be excluded entirely from Turkey, not even permitting those „others‟ to enter the country as tourists. Intolerance is alive and thriving among these Istanbul residents. The data show several significant relationships: 1) Age is indirectly related with tolerance: as age increases, tolerance decreases; 2). Education however is directly related to social distance: as level of schooling increases, tolerance increases; 3) Sports fanaticism shows a direct relationship with intolerance among some but not all social „others.‟ On the other hand, 4) Region of origin shows little relationship to social distance, and 5) Gender has no significant relationship to social distance. 7) Political party preference and 8) Turkish exceptionalism show the strongest and most consistent relationship to tolerance.