TURKISH SOCIETY ESSAY
Turkey is one of the largest countries in the Middle East region. Historically, Turkey performed the function of a bridge between West and East, while today Turkey attempts to become a member of the EU being integrated in the NATO that means that Turkey still performs the role of the bridge between West and East. At the same time, in spite of the current intention of Turkey to integrate into the EU, Turkey still remains the unique country with specific culture and history. What is meant here is the fact that Turkey is quite different from European countries and Turkish society has preserved its cultural identity, which distinguishes Turks from other nations. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that Turkey has rich culture, which is vulnerable to considerable changes, especially in the course of the last century. In actuality, Turkish society is still vulnerable to considerable changes but these changes still fail to ruin traditional Turkish lifestyle. This means that Turkish society changes but preserves its unique identity and original culture, while the changes affect the further development of Turkish society. In this regard, Turkish society tends to introduce changes, which challenge traditional conservative values of Turkish society, such as the increasing participation of women in the political, economic and social life of the country, the introduction of democratic norms and principles, and the development of democratic institutions. However, in spite of consistent changes aiming at the democratization of Turkish society, many Turks still stick to their traditions and lead the traditional lifestyle, especially in rural areas.
In fact, Turkey holds the in-between position. To put it more precisely, the geographic location of Turkey is favorable not only from the physical, natural point of view but also from the geo-political standpoint. As it has been already mentioned above, Turkey holds the position of the bridge between West and East, between Europe and Asia. This is probably why Turkish culture and Turkish society have incorporated elements of both Western and Eastern cultures, although, in spite of the active westernization of Turkey in the course of the last century, Turkey still remains a predominantly oriental country, which though has incorporated some elements and norms of European civilization. In this regard, the geographical location of Turkey contributes to the enrichment of Turkish society and culture. In fact, the in-between position of Turkey allows Turks to develop close relations with both Western and Oriental cultures. As a result, the culture of Turkey becomes richer, while Turks become more tolerant. This is why Turkey attempts to integrate in the EU because Turkey attempts to become a part of Europe due to its historical experience of interaction with Europe and becoming a bridge between West and East.
At the same time, geographical location and history of Turkey contributed to the vast diversity of the population in terms of race and ethnic composition. In fact, the population of Turkey is extremely diverse. The major part of the population consists of Turks, who comprise the ethnic majority in Turkey. However, Turkey has diverse ethnic groups, which have a considerable impact on the Turkish society. In this regard, it is possible to distinguish such ethnic groups as Kurds, Arabs, Caucasians, Jews, and others. These ethnic groups comprise a part of Turkish society.
However, some of them fail to get integrated in Turkish society. In this regard, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that Kurds comprise the minority but they struggle for their independence of Turkey and this struggle often takes violent forms. Turkey conducted a number of military operations and repressions against Kurds struggling for their independence. The majority of the population has chauvinistic view on the issue of Kurds’ independence. Turks want to retain the control over the territory populated by Kurds. As a result, Kurds are disintegrated in Turkish society and they keep on struggling for their independence. In such a way, Kurds raise the permanent tension in Turkey, while the ethnic conflict in Turkey persists till present days and Turkish society is unlikely to find a plausible solution to the problem of Kurds and their struggle for independence.
The ethnic diversity of Turkish society is significant but social diversity is even larger. On analyzing the social stratification and inequality, it is worth mentioning the fact that social inequality and stratification of Turkish society persists. The major cause of the social stratification and inequality is the economic disparity of Turkish society. A large part of Turkish society lives in poverty. In spite of numerous efforts of Turkish government to conduct economic and social reforms to eliminate poverty, a considerable part of the society still lives in poverty and this problem remains unresolved. Poverty is one of the major causes of the inferior position of a large part of the population because the poor have little access to education, health care services and other social services, which are often vitally important for them. The middle class of Turkish society is still underdeveloped and consists of the urban population of large cities mainly for representatives of the middle class concentrated in large cities of Turkey. At the same time, there are a few rich families, which hold control over the large part of Turkish economy. These rich families comprise the upper-class, which is not numerous but holds control over the national economy and concentrate a large part of the national wealth in their hands.
The high level of poverty provokes the growth of crime rates in Turkey. On the other hand, Turkish society has Muslim traditions, which restrain the growth of crime rates because Muslim norms and traditions impose limitations on the development of criminal activity. In fact, according to Muslim norms, crimes are among the most serious sin. Therefore, Muslims avoid committing crimes, even if they live in poverty. At the same time, the urban population of large Turkish cities is less influence by Muslim traditions and the urban poor commit crimes, regardless of Muslim traditions. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the urban poor comprise the major source of growing crime rates. The urban poor live in poverty and their desperate socioeconomic position forces them to commit crime. In addition, the lack of education and essential social and health care services aggravate their position even more. As a result, the population of large urban cities suffers from the poverty that forces people to commit crimes and increase the social tension. Therefore, the social and economic inequality in Turkey provokes the growth of crime rate. As Muslim norms and traditions restrain the growth of crime rates in rural areas of Turkey and in small towns, then the urban areas affected by the poverty are vulnerable to the growth of crime rates because of their desperate socioeconomic position.
Obviously, socioeconomic and cultural changes lead to consistent changes in Turkish society, which change the traditional life of people in Turkey. In this regard, it is possible to refer to gender patterns, which are also vulnerable to considerable changes under the impact of western culture and democratization of the country. Specialists (Pope & Pope, 2004) point out that male-female relations remain an area of some tension in Turkish society. The conflict between traditional and modern values and between patterns of socialization within the family and at school affects the social relationships that both men and women establish (Mango, 2004). Even among modernized urban dwellers, family loyalty, family obligations, and family honor remain strong considerations.
Thus, even though Turks professing to have modern values may define the “ideal” family as one in which equality exists between spouses, wives who actually attempt to establish themselves as equal partners usually meet with resistance from their husbands (Revolinski, 2006). Among more traditional families, both men and women generally expect husbands to be dominant, especially with respect to matters involving household interactions with the public; wives are expected to be obedient. Even in traditional families, however, wives may not accept passive roles, and their efforts to assert themselves can come up against strong disapproval (Pope & Pope, 2004).
Therefore, the gender patterns change in Turkey but these changes still fail to ruin historical norms and traditions. This means that Turkish women are still vulnerable to discrimination and oppression from the part of men. As a rule, women are in an inferior position compared to men. For instance, women are still under-represented in economic and political life of the country. In fact, women’s role is often limited to the role of a wife and mother, who takes care of household, while women conducting their business or taking active part in the political life of the country are still quite rare. Nevertheless, Turkish women still struggle for equality because they grow conscious of their rights and liberties, while modern technology and the growing impact of western culture open larger ways for the emergence of feminism in Turkey. In this regard, the democratization of Turkey contributes to the faster emancipation of women in Turkey.
In such a context, the concept of family and marriage is also vulnerable to consistent changes. The social changes induced by state policies after 1923 failed to create a new Turkish culture. Instead, at least two distinct cultures had emerged in Turkey by the 1950s. One was an elite culture characterized by secular values and patterns of family and gender relationships similar to those found in much of urban, middle-class Europe (Mango, 2004). The majority popular culture, in contrast, was influenced by a mix of secular ideas learned in the compulsory state education system (through middle school), religious values learned within the family and from community organizations such as the mosques, and traditional views about the appropriate public role of the sexes (Revolinski, 2006).
Traditionally, marriage has been – and frequently continues to be – a contract negotiated and executed by the families of the betrothed and blessed by a member of the religious establishment (Mango, 2004). Representatives of the bride and groom negotiate the contract, which stipulates such terms as the size and nature of the bride – price paid by the family of the groom to the family of the bride and whatever conditions of conjugal life are mutually agreeable (Revolinski, 2006). In such a way, marriage and family life in Turkish society are regulated by traditional norms. However, the introduction of changes in social and cultural norms as well as in legal procedures contribute to certain changes in marriage and family life but such changes are rather formal than widely-implemented. For instance, divorce rates are still quite low in Turkey, especially compared to western countries, where divorce rates reach 50% or even higher (Pope & Pope, 2004). At the same time, the marriage is formalized at a ceremony presided over by a religious official (Pope & Pope, 2004). Therefore, the formal aspects of marriage often prevail over sensual ones.
As for the family in Turkey, specialists (Mango, 2004) argue that although a majority of households in Turkey are nuclear family units, the larger extended family continues to play an important social role in the lives of most individuals. The extended family always includes all relatives by blood or marriage through an individual’s paternal grandfather, or sometimes, great-grandfather. In addition, many individuals, especially those of middle-class and elite social status, consider the parents and siblings of their own mother to be part of the extended family. In general, the extended family functions as an emotional support network during life-cycle events such as birth, marriage, and death, or during major family crises (Pope & Pope, 2004). It often functions as an economic support network by providing loans for exceptional personal expenses, finding employment for new graduates, and caring for indigent members who are elderly or disabled. In urban areas, the extended family – especially fathers and sons or two or more brothers – can serve as a means for the formation of business partnerships. In rural areas, members of an extended family may work together to farm large acreages or raise large herds of sheep (Revolinski, 2006). Consequently, the family is still a fundamental unit of Turkish society that preserves its traditional features and characteristics. Therefore, Turkish society views family as the major value laying foundation to the society.
On analyzing the socio-cultural life, marriage and family in Turkish society, it becomes obvious that the role of religion as a social institution in Turkey is particularly significant. In fact, Turkey is predominantly Muslim and Islam affects cultural norms and traditions of Turkish society. Although Turkey was secularized at the official level, religion remained a strong force at the popular level. After 1950 some political leaders tried to benefit from popular attachment to religion by espousing support for programs and policies that appealed to the religiously inclined (Revolinski, 2006). Such efforts were opposed by most of the political elite, who believed that secularism was an essential principle of Kemalism (Pope & Pope, 2004). This disinclination to appreciate religious values and beliefs gradually led to a polarization of society. The polarization became especially evident in the 1980s as a new generation of educated but religiously motivated local leaders emerged to challenge the dominance of the secularized political elite (Pope & Pope, 2004). These new leaders have been assertively proud of Turkey’s Islamic heritage and generally have been successful at adapting familiar religious idioms to describe dissatisfaction with various government policies. By their own example of piety, prayer, and political activism, they have helped to spark a revival of Islamic observance in Turkey (Revolinski, 2006). By 1994 slogans promising that a return to Islam would cure economic ills and solve the problems of bureaucratic inefficiencies had enough general appeal to enable avowed religious candidates to win mayoral elections in Istanbul and Ankara, the country’s two most secularized cities (Revolinski, 2006). Therefore, in spite of secularization of Turkey, religion still plays an important part in the life of people. Turkish society is still highly religious but the religion is separated from the state. Hence, religion and faith are personal matters of each individual but not a part of the state ideology and policy.
At the same time, Turkish society is rather a collectivist than individualist society that increases the impact of crowd and mass behavior on individuals. What is meant here is the fact that Turkish people tend to behave respectively to existing social norms and standards. They do not want to distinguish themselves from the crowd because they consider such behavior immoral. In contrast, they prefer to stress their unity and similarity. For instance, Turkish organizations often are built on the ground of the family-like structure, which promotes the idea of close interpersonal relations between individuals within organizations, who treat each other as family members. Hence, a leader of an organization can take care of his or her subordinates to help them tackle their problems.
However, today, Turkey is vulnerable to consistent changes, which often occur under the impact of social movements. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the case of rising feminist movement, which focuses on the fast integration of women in the economic, political and social life of Turkey. The feminist movement emerges in Turkey along with the democratization of the country and its attempts to integrate in the EU. At the same time, the emerging feminist movement stimulate the change in traditional views of Turks on women and their position in the society. The feminist movement raises the public debate and contributes to the change in the life of the society.
The democratization of the country contributes to the development of numerous political organizations and movements, which represent different political views and different groups of Turkish population. In such a way, social movements become a powerful tool with the help of which different social groups can protect their interest and participate in the political and economic life of the country.
In actuality, aspirations of Turkish society are closely intertwined with the fast economic development of the country and the consistent improvement of the life of Turks. To put it more precisely, many Turkish people live in poverty and they expect that changes occurring in Turkey today will bring positive effects and changes in their life. At the same time, they still stick to the traditional lifestyle and norms, which they are not ready to refuse from, especially in the field of the family life, marriage, and religion.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that Turkish society is a highly diverse society because Turkey performed historically the role of the bridge between West and East. Therefore, today, Turkish society, which is oriental, tends to incorporate western elements and norms, which are new for Turkish society and need time for their close integration.
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