Viewpoints of Turkish People on the Armenian Issue: A Q Methodology Study

This study aims to examine the viewpoints of people living in Trkiye toward the "Armenian issue" by using Q methodology.Field research was carried out with 40 adult participants with diverse religious and political views in Trkiye.The participants were asked to sort 41 different cards related to the Armenian issue from the most agreed (+4) to the most disagreed side (-4).The data were analyzed with the PQMethod 2.35 program.The results highlighted three factors (or viewpoints) representing different aspects of the Armenian issue: 1) Armenian issue as a result of war conditions and mutual sufferings, 2) Armenian issue as a genocide and Turkish State as the only political responsible party, 3) The Armenian issue as the influence of global powers such as the US and Russia.The results also indicated the participants' agreement and disagreement points.The participants had a consensus on views involving reciprocal steps to solve the issue such as conducting scientific studies and various activities of research institutions and NGOs from both countries and restarting diplomatic relations.However, they diverged in views including politicized suggestions for the solutions of the Armenian issue such as a request for recognition of the genocide, and a request for an official apology.Finally, all participants agreed with the Q statements that "the main victims of the issue are the Armenians living in Anatolia" and that "many Turks are prejudiced against Armenians." Trkiye'deki Bireylerin Ermeni Meselesine likin Grleri: Bir Q Yntemi almas zBu almann amac Trkiye'de yaayan insanlarn Ermeni meselesine ynelik bak alarn Q yntemini kullanarak incelemektir.Alan aratrmas Trkiye'de farkl dini ve siyasi grlere sahip 40 yetikin katlmc ile gerekletirilmitir. Katlmclardan Ermeni meselesi ile ilgili 41 fikir kartn "tamamen destekliyorum" (+4) ile "hi desteklemiyorum" (-4) arasnda sralamalar istenmitir.Veriler PQMethod 2.35 program ile analiz edilmitir.Sonular, Ermeni meselesinin farkl ynlerini temsil eden bak asnn olduunu gstermektedir: 1) Sava koullarnn ve karlkl aclarn bir sonucu olarak Ermeni meselesi, 2) Bir soykrm olarak Ermeni meselesi ve tek (siyasi) sorumlu taraf olarak Trkiye Devleti ve 3) ABD ve Rusya gibi kresel glerin etkisinde olarak Ermeni meselesi.Ayrca sonular katlmclarn bu meselede hemfikir olduklar ve olmadklar bak alarn da gstermitir.Katlmclar bu sorunun zm iin her iki lkeden aratrma kurumlar ve STK'larn bilimsel almalar ve eitli faaliyetler yrtmesi ve diplomatik ilikilerin yeniden balatlmas gibi karlkl admlar vurgulayan grlerde fikir birliindedir.Ancak soykrmn tannmas talebi ve resmi zr talebi gibi Ermeni meselesinin zmne ynelik siyasi