The effect of threat perception to the social change

The concept of threat, which has a significant place in social life, is defined by the concept of "otherness" with hostile intentions and indicates the existence of a dangerous situation. On the other hand, the perception of threat refers to the awareness of any dangerous situation. All interventions with hostile intentions towards the social, political and economic goals of the individual, in particular the existence of the individual, may lead to an increase in the perception of threat on the individual. The individual whose perception of threat escalates, makes various attempts to eliminate the threat and secure himself. Perception of threats at the individual scale may also emerge at the institutional level in a similar way. Social institutions are mechanisms that aim to regulate and balance social structure by way of functions that they undertake. Decision-makers in such institutions may perceive any person, event or organisation as a threat that would disrupt the social balance and prevent institutions from performing their functions. This study focuses on the impact of threat perception on social change within this context, and is built on the comparative historical method and structural functionalism theory. Perceptions of threats to various phenomena and situations in different societies within historical framework have been described and the abolition of the Guild of Janissaries from the Ottoman period and the Sheikh Said uprising in the Early Republican period were examined in detail in this regard. The threat perception of the political authorities scaled up in both cases as the political authorities had to deal with uprisings, the political institution was prevented from performing its functions fully, the social life was put in jeopardy, the established order was disrupted and aimed reforms were opposed mainly due to traditionalist stance. Political authorities have taken various military, legal and administrative measures to address these threats. In the light of historical data, it has been determined that as a result of such precautions taken, institutional changes have been experienced in the social structure. Therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that "threat perception causes changes in the functional procedures and areas of the institutions" and this hypothesis was verified by the findings. Keywords: Threat, Threat Perception, Social Change, Guild of Janissaries, Sheikh Said.