A research on generation Z's approach towards Turkey's foreign policies

Studies on generations, which is one of the important topics of social sciences such as sociology, psychology and gerontology, are increasing day by day. There are five basic generations in the literature: Baby boom generation, Silent generation, X, Y, and Z generations. In addition to these, there are also studies indicating that there will be a generation described as alpha, representing the post-Generation Z and a new world. Although generation classifications are not a new phenomenon, they will always be a phenomenon that maintains its social reality. Generation Z, which is considered to be the youngest generation of today and the main subject of this study, was born between 1996 and 2010. Generation Z, known as the most global generation, is also known for its habit and feature of using social media excessively. Various studies show that Generation Z spends at least three hours on social media, that they are a generation that is open to innovations, that they attach importance to the environment, human and animal rights, that they attach importance to their freedom, that they care about issues such as freedom and democracy, and that their individuality is at the forefront. This research was conducted to determine Generation Z's approaches to Turkey's current foreign policies, to reveal the profile of Generation Z and to discuss its politics. Survey technique was used in the research and seven provinces were selected to represent seven regions of Turkey using stratified sampling. These provinces are Ankara, Antalya, Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Trabzon and Van. The research population includes Generation Z individuals born between 1996 and 2005 living in Turkey. The research sample consists of 698 individuals selected from the universe using the stratified random sampling method. Participants' answers to the survey were processed in the SPSS 25 program with frequency, percentage analyses, descriptive statistics such as arithmetic mean and standard deviation, independent groups (unrelated samples), t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey HSD multiple comparisons (post-hoc) test. was analyzed using chi-square test and Pearson correlation analysis. The results obtained from the research show that Generation Z has a high level of religious belief, a high traditional approach to marriage, family and social relations, a low level of political participation, but Generation Z has an interest in foreign policies. Based on this and various research data, it is discussed in the study that Generation Z should be considered a political generation, not an apolitical one.