44% of Turks believe in restricting personal freedom for national security, reveals poll

A survey conducted by PANORAMATR in February brought to light key insights into Turkish voting behavior and concerns, revealing support for sacrificing certain individual freedoms for national security and identifying Israel and the U.S. as Türkiye’s greatest perceived threats.

The PANORAMATR survey was conducted between Jan. 9-16 and involved 2,093 participants, with a margin of error of 3.2%.

Balance between freedom and security

The survey also asked participants whether freedom should be restricted in the name of national security.

Responses were divided almost equally, with 44.3% agreeing that democratic freedoms could be limited for the sake of national security and 43.2% opposed the idea.

Among government supporters, 57.5% of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) voters and 52.5% of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voters believe that state security should take precedence over individual rights.

Meanwhile, more than half of Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters, at 56.0%, oppose the restriction of freedoms, as well as 71.4% of Peoples’ Equality Party (DEM Party) voters.

Israel, US biggest security threat

A significant majority of participants view Israel and the U.S. as the greatest security threats. Israel is viewed as the primary threat by 36.9% of participants, while the U.S. ranks second at 31.4%. Syria, often highlighted by opposition supporters, is ranked third with 6.3%.

Ranking of security concerns

Participants ranked the economic crisis (23.3%) and terrorism (23%) as the two biggest security threats. After these, foreign intervention was seen as the third threat (12%), followed by migration and immigrants as the fourth threat (10%).

Regional stability and wars came in fifth place (8.8%).

When looking at the influence of security concerns on voter behavior, 66% of participants indicated that their voting preferences are affected by security worries. However, this percentage is lower among government supporters.

Migration and border security

Another striking result of the survey concerns migration and border security. Some 51.2% of participants expressed that border security and migration are not being effectively managed.

While opposition voters form the majority of those who feel this way, a notable share of government party supporters also express this concern.