Evolution and Focus of Terrorism Studies in Türkiye: A Comprehensive Analysis of Academic Literature (1992–2024)

The aim of this study is to analyze the evolution and characteristics of the academic literature on terrorism in Türkiye from 1992 to 2024. The study addresses two main research questions: the distinctive features of terrorism literature in Türkiye and the types of terrorist organizations that have been the focus of this literature, along with temporal changes in these focuses. In this direction, the study used descriptive and dictionary-based analyses on a dataset of 1066 academic publications identified through "Publish or Perish" software, focusing on studies with relevant keywords in Turkish. The descriptive analysis examined publication trends, number of citations, number of authors, and study types, while the dictionary-based analysis identified the most studied terrorist organizations and tracked changes over time. The findings reveal that most studies in this literature, which experienced significant growth after 9/11 and peaked in 2019, received fewer than ten citations. The literature predominantly focuses on organizations like the PKK, with shifting attention to groups like ISIS and FETÖ in recent years. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how terrorism studies in Türkiye have developed and evolved over the last three decades.

LINK: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ijshs/issue/93549/1736233

Understanding the Fear of Terrorism in Türkiye and Taiwan

Abstract 

This study investigates the heightened fear of terrorism in Türkiye and Taiwan, two countries with distinct histories of terrorism yet similar levels of fear, despite differing exposure to terrorist incidents. Utilizing data from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey, the research employs Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) to examine the effects of various media sources -television, newspapers, and the internet- on fear of terrorism in both countries. The findings indicate that while internet usage increases fear of terrorism in Türkiye, it has no significant effect in Taiwan. Conversely, exposure to television elevates fear of terrorism in Taiwan but not in Türkiye. Furthermore, the study underscores the influence of demographic and sociocultural factors, such as gender and the importance of religion, in shaping perceptions of terrorism. Women in both countries report higher levels of fear, and participants with stronger religious beliefs demonstrate increased fear. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of two geographically and politically distinct nations, highlighting the role of media and contextual factors in understanding public fear of terrorism. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers in developing targeted interventions to address these fears.

Keywords: Taiwan, Türkiye, Fear of Terrorism, Ordinal Logistic Regression.

LINK: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4326872

The Effects of Attitudes Towards Immigrants on Fear of Terrorism in Türkiye

Abstract 

Two prominent subjects in recent years that have captivated the Turkish public are immigration and terrorism. The profound migration crisis in Türkiye, coupled with a surge in terrorism-related crimes, has forged a substantial association between immigrants and terrorism in the perception of many Turkish people. Along these lines, although there are many academic studies of the relationship in Europe between immigrants and the fear of terrorism, the number of academic studies focusing on Türkiye is insufficient. For this reason, in this study, we use the seventh wave of the World Values Survey (WVS) to focus on the statistical relationship between the fear of terrorism and the view of immigrants in Türkiye. As shown by regression analysis, the rise in fear of terrorism in Türkiye also increases negative attitudes towards immigrants. However, since the results based only on the quantitative regression analysis do not provide in-depth information, we support the quantitative results with face-to-face interviews. In line with the results of the regression analysis, in the interviews, we find that one of the critical factors that increased participants' fear of terrorism is the immigrants who came to Türkiye in recent years. 

 Keywords: Immigrants, fear of terrorism, terrorism, Ordinal Logistic Regression, Türkiye

LINK: https://journals.tplondon.com/md/article/view/3519