Civil Military Relations in Turkey: Motives Behind the Shift of Power from Military to Civilians After the Interventions
Abstract
The Turkish Military, the most trusted institution in the country for decades, has been a symbol of modernization and secularism in the country since the independence of the Republic in 1923. Especially with the introduction of the multi-party system after the Second World War, The Turkish Military's role became conspicuous by military interventions. Turkey witnessed military interventions in 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997, and 2007, each having a different character. Although the intervention sometimes became a military coup, the Turkish military elite generally stayed behind the curtains and passed control to the civilians, instead of grasping control over the government themselves. Turkey was under direct control of the military only during the periods 1960-1962 and 1980-1983. Especially in the last decade, the change in civilian-military relations in Turkey has aroused a scholarly debate over the role of the military in civilian authority. This thesis examines the military interventions that have occurred in Turkey over the past few decades to learn more about the attitudes of the military elite, and the reasons for the fast shift of power from the military to civilians after every intervention, except in 1960 and 1980. The thesis argues that the delegation of power from the military to civilians was mainly due to the harsh isolation of the officer corps from politics, democratic incentives in terms of modernization, and economic and institutional developments. Thus, the main research question is as follows: What are the factors that caused the military to delegate governmental authority back to civilians after these military interventions?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA579900
Entities
People
- Mustafa S. Uygun
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School