Batı’da Siyasal Normların Dönüşümü ve Silahlı Kuvvetler

Year 2025, Volume: 17 Issue: 3, 783 - 813, 30.10.2025

Hakan Samur

https://doi.org/10.53376/ap.2025.28

Abstract

Bu makale, modern Batı devletlerinde silahlı kuvvetlerin siyasal normlarla olan ilişkisini üç dönem halinde incelemektedir: Ulus-devlet dönemi (1850–1945), demokratikleşme dönemi (1946–1990) ve çoğulcu demokrasi dönemi (1990 sonrası). Bu incelemenin amacı, söz konusu devletlerde dönemsel olarak hâkim siyasal normlarla silahlı kuvvetler arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya koymaktır. Daha da açmak gerekirse, bu makalede, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde ve Batı Avrupa devletlerinde 19. Yüzyılın ortalarından günümüze kadarki süreçte silahlı kuvvetlerin, hâkim siyasal normların ve bu normlardaki değişimin gözlenebileceği bir kurum olduğu öngörülmüştür. Ulus-devlet döneminde, sanayi kapitalizminin yükselişiyle birlikte ulusçuluk ve ona bağlı bazı normlar öne çıkarken; silahlı kuvvetler bu normların taşıyıcısı olarak merkezi bir rol oynar. Hem prosedürel hem de içeriksel yönleriyle demokrasinin norm haline geldiği 1945 sonrası dönemde silahlı kuvvetlerin konumu, bunlara paralel olarak yeniden şekillenir. 1990’lar sonrasının çoğulcu demokrasi döneminde ise silahlı kuvvetler mensuplarının meslekî profilleri, halk nezdindeki konumları ve hak ve özgürlükler çerçevesi, yeni normlara uygun bir dönüşüm geçirir. “Üniforma içinde yurttaş” kavramıyla ifade edildiği gibi, askeri personelin hakları ve özgürlükleri sivillere yaklaştırılır. Çalışma, tarihsel-sosyolojik bir yöntemle ilerlemekte; siyasal normlar-silahlı kuvvetler ilişkisini, kapsama alanındaki ülkelerden örnekler ve dönemsel analizler üzerinden incelemektedir.

Keywords

Siyasal Normlar , Silahlı Kuvvetler , Ulus-Devlet , Demokrasi , Modern Batı

The Evolution of Political Norms in the West and the Armed Forces

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the armed forces and political norms in modern Western states across three historical periods: the nation-state era (1850–1945), the democratization era (1946–1990), and the pluralist democracy era (post-1990). The aim of this analysis is to reveal the relationship between the dominant political norms of each period and the armed forces within these states. More specifically, the article posits that in the United States and Western European countries, the armed forces have served as an institution where prevailing political norms and their transformations can be observed from the mid-19th century to the present. During the nation-state era, the rise of industrial capitalism highlighted nationalism and related norms, with the armed forces playing a central role as carriers of these norms. In the post-1945 period, where democracy became the normative framework both procedurally and substantively, the role of the armed forces was reshaped accordingly. In the post-1990 era of pluralist democracy, the professional profiles of military personnel, their status in the public sphere, and their rights and freedoms have undergone a transformation aligned with new norms. As encapsulated by the concept of the “citizen in uniform,” the rights and liberties of military personnel have increasingly aligned with those of civilians. This study employs a historical-sociological methodology to examine the armed forces–political norms relationship through examples and period-based analyses from the countries in question.

Keywords

Political Norms , Armed Forces , Nation-State , Democratization , Modern West

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