The Changing Role of the Military in Turkish Politics: Democratization through Coup Plots

Yaprak Gursoy

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The exposure of alleged coup plots in 2007 has shaken the guardian role of the
    Turkish military in politics. What were the conditions that led to the exposure
    of the coups and what is their significance for the future of Turkish democracy?
    Drawing on insights from southern Europe, the article argues that failed
    coup plots can lead to democratic civil–military relations especially if they
    work simultaneously with other facilitating conditions, such as increasing
    acceptance of democratic attitudes among officers, consensus among
    civilians over the role of the military, and the influence of external actors,
    such as the European Union. The article focuses on such domestic and
    international factors to analyse the transformation of the Turkish military,
    the splits within the armed forces and the resulting plots. It argues that one
    positive outcome of the exposed conspiracies in Turkey has been the
    enactment of new institutional amendments that would eradicate the
    remaining powers of the military. Yet, a negative outcome of the coup
    investigations has been an increase in polarization and hostility. Turkish
    democracy still lacks mutual trust among significant political groups, which
    creates unfavourable conditions for democratic consolidation.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)735-760
    Number of pages25
    JournalDemocratization
    Volume19
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012

    Keywords

    • Turkey
    • southern Europe
    • democratic consolidation
    • civil-military relations
    • democratic control of the armed forces
    • failed coups
    • Ergenekon
    • Balyoz

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