Social perception of conservatism in Turkey: A comparative study in Tunceli-Elâzığ

With the research on the social perception of conservatism; It has been tried to determine how conservatism is perceived in Tunceli and Elazığ provinces and what are the variables underlying this perception. The study group of the research, which was designed as due diligence within the scope of qualitative research, consisted of 42 individuals residing in the provinces of Tunceli and Elazığ and also from the local people of these provinces, who received at least undergraduate education. 16 of them are from Tunceli and 26 of them are from Elazig local people. The research data were obtained with a semi-structured interview form applied to the study group and analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the analysis of the data; Although the province of Tunceli partially tends to be conservatism in the "traditional" and "sectarian" sense, it is seen that it has a social structure far from political conservatism. It has been found that the province of Elazig has a "nationalist-conservative" social structure that is resistant to change. Again, according to the research findings; While those who participated in the study group from Elazig see themselves as "political conservatives" in the ideological sense, they see Tunceli as a politically nationalist, conservative and not resistant to change, but on the contrary, a social structure open to change. Another finding, reached by the research, is that while religious (Islamic) beliefs and values lie as variables under Elazig conservatism, the variables underlying Tunceli conservatism are more local and traditional values. It is the responsibility of all segments of the society to help conservatism to ensure unity throughout the country and to remove it from political and social polarization.