Explaining the end of military tutelary regime and the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey (original) (raw)
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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.
Democracy at Gunpoint: The Failures and Successes of Military Rule in Turkey
This research paper examines the three military coups that took place in Turkey in 1960, 1971, and 1980. The goal of this paper is to examine these three military coups and attempt to figure out what they tell us about the Turkish political landscape and Turkish society in the period between 1960 and 1980. Among the main questions this paper is interested in answering are the following. Why did the Turkish military launch three different coups within a twenty-year period against democratically elected governments? What was it about the context of Turkish society and politics in this period that made these rather frequent coups possible? Does the military play a special role in Turkish politics and society? Why were the coups successful? How have these coups influenced Turkish society moving forward from 1980, up to the present day? These are the types of questions this paper is interested in answering, in the interest of gaining a fuller understanding of how Turkish society and politics functioned in the middle of the twentieth century.
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On July 15, 2016, Turkey witnessed the most bloody military coup attempt in its history, and for the first time it was repulsed by the resistance of society, political actors, and state institutions. In the two years since then, instead of examining this attempt from the perspective of Turkey's military coup traditions or civil-military relations literature, the July 15 coup attempt has largely been seen through the lens of FETÖ and the power struggle between FETÖ and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). This study goes beyond this rudimentary and reductionist readings of the July 15 coup attempt that reduce it to a disagreement between two former allies. Instead, it looks at it through the political, sociological and institutional contexts that rendered this attempt first possible and then unsuccessful at the same time.
The Turkish Military in Politics, and the Attempted Coup of 15-16 July 2016
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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.
Understanding the July 2016 Military Coup: The Contemporary Security Dilemma in Turkey
Digest of Middle East Studies, 2019
This study explores the link between religious identity and conflict in contemporary Turkey by examining the dramatic reversals in the relations between the country's two prominent Islamic social forces, the ruling party AKP and the Gülen Organization. It shows how a particular trajectory of power and identity between the two religious forces transformed into a brutal security competition in the Turkish society and polity. It puts the analytical foci on the following puzzle: how did the Gülen community-once a confidential ally of AKP-turn into a coup plotter in the Turkish military to bring down the elected government? In order to explore the puzzle, the study offers significant departures from the standard approaches to religious identity and conflict by employing a distinct concept-the inter-societal security dilemma.
The Turkish Armed Forces and Civil-military Relations in Turkey after the 15 July 2016 Coup Attempt
Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 2019
This article places the 15 July coup attempt in Turkey into a wider context by examining the historical role of the Turkish military in politics, developments in civil-military relations since the turn of the millennium, and finally the implications of the recent coup attempt for relations between the military, the government, and society. It is argued that under Turkey’s new “strong” presidential system civilian political control and oversight of the armed forces will be strengthened, but there will not be any civilian democratic control and oversight as we usually understand this concept.
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).
Journal of Youth Research, 2016
History shows that Turkish military have strong interest and influence on mainstream politics and civilian political powers. Nevertheless, the AK Party's influences, and identical political parties' role on civilian politics since 2002, make a space for strong political environment hindering the political interest and influence of the military. The night of July 15th is the great example we have seen unprecedented developments of civilian political powers over military political powers in Turkey. This study identifies why Turkish military are interested in interfering on civilian politics by interpreting and analyzing the July 15 failed coup attempt. This study is based on four major grounds, which are brought forth in four sections. The first section attempts to show the theoretical background of civil-military relations in Turkey on the basis of FETO's failed military coup on July 15th. The second section deals with the historical perspective of Turk-ish military influence over civilian politics. The third section explains specifically the reasons of military interest to interfere on civilian politics and analyses the incident of FETO's failed military coup attempt on July 15th, FETO's background, the role of FETO members in Turkish military, and FETO's foreign perpetrators. The fourth