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10 statistics that show Turkey drifting away from the West

According to this year’s Transatlantic Trends survey, Turkey can be seen as drifting away from the West. How do we know? After surveying approximately 1,000 people in Turkey (along with about 1,000 in the United States and each of 11 European Union countries) on a host of foreign policy and economic policy questions, we found the following:
1. 28% of Turks approve of Barack Obama’s handling of foreign policy, compared to 78% of Europeans and 52% of Americans
2. 34% of Turks say that Turkey should act alone in the world, down from 43% in 2009
3. 13% of Turks say that Turkey should act in conjunction with the EU, down from 22% in 2009
4. 20% of Turks say that Turkey should act in conjunction with countries in the Middle East, up from 10% in 2009
5. In 2004, 73% of Turks said that joining the EU would be a good thing. In 2010, just 38% of Turks said so.
6. 48% of Turks are not concerned about Iran becoming a nuclear threat, compared with 86% of Americans and 79% of Europeans.
7. 25% of Turks are willing to let Iran become a nuclear country, compared with 6% of Europeans and 4% of Americans who would allow that.
8. In 2004, 53% of Turks felt that NATO was essential to their security. In 2010, just 30% said so.
9. While 51% of Europeans think it is likely Turkey will join the EU, 63% of Turks think it isn’t likely, including 34% saying it isn’t likely at all.
10. 48% of Turks think that Turkey has such different values from the West that it can’t be part of it, and only 30% think Turkey has enough in common with the West.
GERMAN MARSHALL FUND