Preventing the institutionalization of democracy in Turkey, the main problem is the
privilege of the military in the political system. Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) has intervened in
civilian politics many times with the idea that it has a mission to protect the regime, and after
each intervention, it has determined the conditions for transition to democracy while transferring
power to civilians. After the coups, with the privileges obtained the military strengthened in the
political system. With the legal arrangements, TAF has legitimized its political power by placing
it on the legal ground. Periodic military interventions and the increased political autonomy of
the military with each intervention have taken armed forces and their activities away from
the point of democratic civilian control. Although significant reforms have been made in
the EU process, the July 15 incident has shown that the issue of civilian military relations is
still important in Turkey and military coups still threaten the country. It is important for the
democracy that the armed forces depend on the elected civil authority and are subject to civilian
oversight. The issue is remarkable in this respect. This study mainly examines the structure of
civil-military relations in Turkey with the concepts of civil-military contestation and military
prerogatives.
Civil-military relations Civil-military contestation Military prerogatives Civilian control
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | October 31, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 |