After the Failed Military Coup: The Need for the Organizational Reform in the Turkish Military

Year 2019, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 55 - 68, 02.01.2019

Ramazan Erdağ

https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.428313

Abstract

The
failed military coup of July 15, 2016, led by the Fetullah Terrorist
Organization (FETO), indicates that military reform in Turkey at the
operational level needs to be re-considered as an extremely urgent issue. The Justice
and Development Party (AK Party) governments have made very notable structural
changes in the military and have tried to control the military politically and
organizationally. The need for military reform in Turkey derives from two
primary reasons: the tendency of coup action and the need to improve the
military’s effectiveness. This article highlights the importance of reforms actualized
at the strategic level during the Justice and Development Party era.  It also points out the need for
organizational reform in the military; reform which should be done by the
civilian government in order to cope with challenges.

Keywords

Military reform, civil-military relations, AK Party, failed coup, Turkish General Staff

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