Democracy at Gunpoint: The Failures and Successes of Military Rule in Turkey (original) (raw)

The History of Military Coups in Turkey

2019

The history of military coups has a considerable place in Turkish political life. The Janissary revolts in the Ottoman period are accepted as the beginning of the military coup tradition and interventions in Turkish political life. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, took off his military uniform and wore his civilian attire when the War of Independence started. This is because Ataturk believed that real and powerful democracy could only be achieved by civilian governments. However, the military juntas argued that the soldiers were permanent guards of the Republic and had the right to protect the integrity and interests of the country under all circumstances. These are the May 27, 1960 military coup, March 12, 1971 military memorandum, September 12, 1980 military coup, February 28, 1997 Post-Modern coup and the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt. All military coups inevitably destroyed the Turkish democracy. In fact, in every military coup, traces of fo...

Turkish Political Life The Military Coup, 27 May 1960 in Turkey

Transition to multi party period could be achieved twenty three years after the declaration of the Republic of Turkey. In 1950 election was the first time when another party succeeded. Turkey has some democracy wars with military coups in this new term. The soldiers who fought for independence war, started to see themselves guardians of Atatürk' s principles and the new Turkish Republic and with transition to multi party period they started to interfere and want to be arbiter of political life. This interventions came with 1960 military coup. This study examines the 1960 military coup as well as the after this period.

Coup in Turkey

Our paper, it will particularly focus on the AKP government's discourse on national consensus, and the restructuring of the military and the field of security. In order to examine this conflict within by examining both the domestic and international spheres, this paper will, firstly, briefly discuss civil-military relations in Turkey in accordance with its theoretical framework drawn from Marxism. Thirdly, it will discuss the aftermath of the failed coup attempt in relation to the hegemonic project of neoliberal-Islamism. Secondly, it will briefly discuss the relationship between the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi – Justice and Development Party) government and the Gulen movement since the coup plotters were allegedly disciples and allies of the Gulen movement (Gulenists) according to their own confessions. Finally, it will conclude that the secular and democratic Republican regime with the rule of law should be defended, and that the class antagonisms and ill-doings of capitalism should be collectively voiced. However, the failed coup revealed the fierce and prolonged conflict within the state apparatus which can be dated back to the Ergenekon (named after a Turkish saga of rebirth) and Balyoz (Sledgehammer) trials. On 15 July 2016, Turkey saw a failed coup attempt, which was undertaken by certain factions of the military, and which saw more than three-hundred killed, more than a thousand wounded, and thousands detained. Therefore, contrary to the hegemonic liberal-conservative paradigm that has portrayed the military as an elitist institution with a pro-coup mind-set (Heper, 2012; Mardin, 1973), this paper considers civil-military relations as a field of class struggle. Regarding civil-military relations in Turkey, since the relationship between the military and the civilian sphere can be regarded as a response to and a result of the changes in relations of production, the Turkish military intervened in politics as an intermediary in moments of hegemonic crisis to restructure the pattern(s) of capital accumulation and class relations in the last instance in order to maintain the capitalist mode of production after having acquired consent of particular social class(es).

1960 Coup d’Etat: The First Coup in Turkish Republic

On May 27th Republic of Turkey faced her first full-fledged Military takeover (Coup). As it is said, “A Coup is never just a Coup”. This review article provides a summary of the atmosphere before and after the coup of 1960 and an critical analysis on the democratic promises it brought. the following discussions enclose; the origin of the 1960 Coup, the Aftermath, the Conspiracies, the Civilian Military relationship, Traditional and Historical views, Kemalist Principles, Government citizen dialogs and Socio-economic backwardness. This critical analysis went through different interesting and easily misunderstood concepts (such as: Revolt, Revolution, Military takeover etc).

Explaining the end of military tutelary regime and the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey

Journal of Cultural Economy

What were the dynamics behind the July 15 2016 coup attempt in Turkey? At a time when academic literature has been focusing on the dissolution of the country's military tutelary regime, how can this military coup attempt be explained? As an early response to this unanticipated puzzle, I argue that the success of civilian moves towards the dissolution of the military's political power contributedparadoxicallyboth to the emergence and to the failure of a coup organized by a junta of Gulenist officers and their collaborators. Through a description of the historical evolution of civil-military relations, I explain the dissolution of the military tutelary regime with reference to a combination of push and pull factors. The interaction of these push and pull factors presents the historical context behind the emergence and failure of the July 15 failed coup in Turkey.

Give them toys?"- The role of the military in the Turkish democratization process

2007

This thesis gives an account of the military interventions carried out by the Turkish military in 1960, 1971 and 1980. By applying Finer's calculus as a method of analyzing military interventions, I have tried to link the behavior of the military during these three coups with the Turkish democratization process. Unfortunately, the results of the calculus responded poorly to my initial question at issue. Instead the framework of the calculus has provided in depth analysis of the motives, means and opportunities that explains why and how the military intervened.

Coup in Turkey 10.2016 Revised

Everybody knows her, but nonetheless, it's embarrassing to meet her in the street. The truth is like the town whore. -Borchert Our paper, it will particularly focus on the AKP government's discourse on national consensus, and the restructuring of the military and the field of security. In order to examine this conflict within by examining both the domestic and international spheres, this paper will, firstly, briefly discuss civil-military relations in Turkey in accordance with its theoretical framework drawn from Marxism. Secondly, it will briefly discuss the relationship between the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi -Justice and Development Party) government and the Gulen movement since the coup plotters were allegedly disciples and allies of the Gulen movement (Gulenists) according to their own confessions. Thirdly, it will discuss the aftermath of the failed coup attempt in relation to the hegemonic project of neoliberal-Islamism. Finally, it will conclude that the secular and democratic Republican regime with the rule of law should be defended, and that the class antagonisms and ill-doings of capitalism should be collectively voiced. However, the failed coup revealed the fierce and prolonged conflict within the state apparatus which can be dated back to the Ergenekon (named after a Turkish saga of re-birth) and Balyoz (Sledgehammer) trials. On 15 July 2016, Turkey saw a failed coup attempt, which was undertaken by certain factions of the military, and which saw more than three-hundred killed, more than a thousand wounded, and thousands detained.

The Turkish Military in Politics, and the Attempted Coup of 15-16 July 2016

2018

1950’lerden itibaren gerceklesen darbelerin yapilari ve basari veya basarisizliklarinin nedenlerine dair uluslararasi akademik literatur ozetlendikten sonra, 1960’dan itibaren Turkiye politikasina askeri mudahalelerin tarihi ozetlenecektir. Takip eden iki bolum 15-16 Temmuz 2016 tarihli darbe girisimindeki olaylara yer vererek, darbenin neden basarisiz oldugunu aciklamaya calisacaktir. Bu olayda bazi aciklanmayan sorular ozetlenecek, karsi iddialarin kusurlari tartilacaktir. Makale, herhangi bir klasik darbenin modern Turkiye kosullarinda basarili olup olamayacagini degerlendirerek sona ermektedir.