Popular Determinant on Civil-Military Relations in Turkey

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Arab Studies Quarterly

Volume 38, Issue 2

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Popular Determinant on Civil-Military Relations in Turkey

research-article

Author(s): Yavuz Cilliler

Publication date (Print): Spring 2016

Journal: Arab Studies Quarterly

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: civil-military relations, civilian control, military tutelage, Turkish civilianization

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Abstract

Military influence on political life in Turkey is a widely known phenomenon in civil-military relations (CMRs) literature, and there are multiple studies reviewing Turkish military tutelage and its roots in the light of the theories developed in this field. However, dynamics of the increasing civilian control over the armed forces in the last decade still serves as a field for further studies. As put forward in CMRs theories, civilian control can be established and maintained through formal arrangements and informal practices. The source of power required to make changes in CMRs is also emphasized along with these control mechanisms. Following the coup in 1980, limited demilitarization process in Turkey was carried out partly with the help of the civilian leaders' personalities and partly with the support of the European Union membership procedures, which has been ineffective since 2005. How civilianization was accomplished since then still needs to be clarified. This article aims to explain the factor(s) that enabled the civilians to gain full control over the armed forces in this period. As a result, the role of popular support is identified as the leading factor for designing formal and informal mechanisms to control the military in Turkey since 2007.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): arabstudquar

Title: Arab Studies Quarterly

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 02713519

ISSN (Electronic): 20436920

Publication date (Print): Spring 2016

Volume: 38

Issue: 2

Pages: 500-520

Article

Publisher ID: arabstudquar.38.2.0500

DOI: 10.13169/arabstudquar.38.2.0500

SO-VID: 3c729d06-a735-4a73-9313-a2323ec70de2

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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References

Aknur, Müge (2008). Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: An Analysis of Civilian Leaders . Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag.
Akyol, Taha (2014). “Gendarmerie and Politics.” Web. Accessed January 20, 2015. <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gendarmerie-andpolitics.aspx?pageID=449&nID=73487&NewsCatID=458polls.aspx?pageID=238&nID=75106&NewsCatID=338>.
Aykaç, Burhan (1997). Kamu Bürokrasisi ve Türk Kamu Personel Yönetiminde Bürokratik Eğilimler [Public Bureaucracy and Bureaucratic Tendencies in Turkish Public Personnel Administration]. Ankara: Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu Matbaası.
Bardakçı, Mehmet (2013). Coup Plots and the Transformation of Civil–Military Relations in Turkey under AKP Rule. Turkish Studies , 14(3), 411–428.
Başbuğ, İlker (2009). “Keep Your Hands off the Military.” Web. Accessed March 5, 2016. <http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11952607_p.asp>.
Bland, Douglas L. (1999). A Unified Theory of Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 26(1) Fall, 7–26.
Bland, Douglas L. (2001). Patterns in Liberal Democratic Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 27(4) Summer, 525–540.
Hans Born, Caparini, Marina, Haltiner, Karl W., and Kuhlmann, Jürgen. (2006). Patterns of Democratic Governance of Civil Military Relations. In Civil-Military Relations in Europe: Learning from Crisis and Institutional Change , ed. Marina Caparini, Karl W. Haltiner, and Jürgen Kuhlmann. Oxon: Routledge.
Bruneau, Thomas C. and Goetze, Richards B. (2006). Ministries of Defense and Democratic Control. In Who Guards the Guardians and How: Democratic Civil-Military Relations , eds. Thomas C. Bruneau and Scott D. Tollefson. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Bruneau, Thomas C., and Matei, Florina Cristiana. (2008). Towards a New Conceptualization of Democratization and Civil-Military Relations. Democratization , 15(5) December, 909–929.
Burk, James. (2002). Theories of Democratic Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 29(1) Fall, 07–29.
Cihan. (2014). “Gov't and General Staff Split over Controlling Gendarmerie.” Web. Accessed March 23, 2016. <https://www.cihan.com.tr/en/govt-and-general-staff-split-over-controlling-gendarmerie-1568214.htm>.
Demirel, Tanel (2004). Soldiers and Civilians: The dilemma of Turkish Democracy. Middle Eastern Studies , 40(1) January, 127–150.
Desch, Michael C. (1999). Civilian Control of the Military: The Changing Security Environment . Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Duman, Özkan and Tsarouhas, Dimitris. (2006). Civilianization in Greece versus Demilitarization in Turkey: A Comparative Study of Civil Military Relations and the Impact of the European Union. Armed Forces & Society , 32(3) April, 405–423.
Durgun, Şenol, “The Turkish Bureaucracy as a Guardian of Statist Tradition,” In Turkish Political Life , ed. Şenol Durgun. Ankara: Binyıl Yayınevi.
Feaver, Peter D. (1996). The Civil-Military Problematique: Huntington, Janowitz, and the Question of Civilian Control. Armed Forces & Society , 23(2) Winter, 149–178.
Feaver, Peter D. (1998). Crisis as Shirking: An Agency Theory Explanation of the Souring of American Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 24(3) Spring, 407–434.
Feaver, Peter D. (1999). Civil-Military Relations. Annual Reviews, Nu. 2 , 211–241.
Finer, Samuel E. (2006). The Man on Horseback: The Role of the Military in Politics . 1st ed., 1962. Princeton, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Gronke, Paul and Feaver, Peter D. (2001). “Uncertain Confidence: Civilian and Military Attitudes about Civil Military Relations,” Paper prepared for the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, 1–50.
Güney, Aylin and Karatekelioğlu, Petek. (2005). Turkey's EU Candidacy and Civil-Military Relations: Challenges and Prospects. Armed Forces & Society , 31(3) Spring, 439–462.
Gürsoy, Yaprak. (2012). The Final Curtain for the Turkish Armed Forces? Civil-Military Relations in View of the 2011 General Elections. Turkish Studies , 13(21) June, 191–211.
Guttieri, Karen. (2006). Professional Military Education in Democracies. In Who Guards the Guardians and How: Democratic Civil-Military Relations , eds. Thomas C. Bruneau and Scott D. Tollefson. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Hale, William (1994). Turkish Politics and the Military . London: Routledge.
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Heper, Metin (2011). Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: Toward a Liberal Model? Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 241–252.
Heper, Metin and Güney, Aylin. (1996). The Military and Democracy in the Third Turkish Republic. Armed Forces & Society , 22(4) Summer, 619–642.
Hooker, Richard D. (2003–2004). Soldiers of the State: Reconsidering American Civil-Military Relations. US Army War College Quarterly, Parameters , XXXIII (4), 4–18.
Huntington, Samuel P. (2006). Asker ve Devlet: Sivil Asker İlişkilerinin Kuram ve Siyasası [The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations], Trans. Kazım Uğur Kızılaslan. Istanbul: Salyangoz Publishing,
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Karaosmanoğlu, Ali L. (2011). Transformation of Turkey's Civil-Military Relations Culture and International Environment. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 253–264.
Karpat, Kemal (1970). The Military and Politics in Turkey: 1960–64. The American Historical Review 75(6) October, 1654–1683.
Kaya, Ayhan (2013). “Erdoğan, Merkel Pleased by Status Quo in Turkey-EU Ties,” Turkish Daily News , September 30, 6.
Middle East Institute (2014). “The Clash of Former Allies: The AKP versus the Gulen Movement.” March 7. Web. Accessed October 5, 2015. <http://www.mei.edu/content/clash-former-allies-akpversus-gulen-movement>.
Müftüler, Meltem. (2015). The Pandora's Box: Democratization and Rule of Law in Turkey. Asia-Europe Journal , Fall, 11 (1–17).
Narlı, Nilüfer. (2011). Concordance and Discordance in Turkish Civil-Military Relations, 1980–2002. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 215–225.
Nielsen, Suzanne C. (2005). Civil-Military Relations Theory and Military Effectiveness. Public Administration and Management 10(2), 61–84.
Nordlinger, Eric A. (1977). Soldiers in Politics: Military Coups and Governments . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Özel, Necdet (2014). “Turkish Army Says Military Tutelage Over.” January 8. Web. Accessed January 19. <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-army-says-military-tutelage-over-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60759&NewsCatID=338>.
Perlmutter, Amos (1969). Praetorian State and the Praetorian Army: Toward a Taxonomy of Civil-Military Relations in Developing Polities. Comparative Politics , 1(3) April, 382–404.
Sarigil, Zeki (2011). Civil-Military Relations beyond Dichotomy: With Special Reference to Turkey. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 265–278.
Sarigil, Zeki (2014). The Turkish Military: Principal or Agent? Armed Forces & Society , 40(1), 168–190.
Shiff, Rebecca L. (2009). The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations . New York: Routledge.
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Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (2013). Turk Silahli Kuvvetlerine Toplumsal Bakış [Societal Look into Turkish Armed Forces]. Ankara: Bilgesam Yayınları, April.

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Comment on this article

[1] Aknur, Müge (2008). Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: An Analysis of Civilian Leaders . Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag.

[2] Akyol, Taha (2014). “Gendarmerie and Politics.” Web. Accessed January 20, 2015. <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gendarmerie-andpolitics.aspx?pageID=449&nID=73487&NewsCatID=458polls.aspx?pageID=238&nID=75106&NewsCatID=338>.

[3] Aykaç, Burhan (1997). Kamu Bürokrasisi ve Türk Kamu Personel Yönetiminde Bürokratik Eğilimler [Public Bureaucracy and Bureaucratic Tendencies in Turkish Public Personnel Administration]. Ankara: Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu Matbaası.

[4] Bardakçı, Mehmet (2013). Coup Plots and the Transformation of Civil–Military Relations in Turkey under AKP Rule. Turkish Studies , 14(3), 411–428.

[5] Başbuğ, İlker (2009). “Keep Your Hands off the Military.” Web. Accessed March 5, 2016. <http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11952607_p.asp>.

[6] Bland, Douglas L. (1999). A Unified Theory of Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 26(1) Fall, 7–26.

[7] Bland, Douglas L. (2001). Patterns in Liberal Democratic Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 27(4) Summer, 525–540.

[8] Hans Born, Caparini, Marina, Haltiner, Karl W., and Kuhlmann, Jürgen. (2006). Patterns of Democratic Governance of Civil Military Relations. In Civil-Military Relations in Europe: Learning from Crisis and Institutional Change , ed. Marina Caparini, Karl W. Haltiner, and Jürgen Kuhlmann. Oxon: Routledge.

[9] Bruneau, Thomas C. and Goetze, Richards B. (2006). Ministries of Defense and Democratic Control. In Who Guards the Guardians and How: Democratic Civil-Military Relations , eds. Thomas C. Bruneau and Scott D. Tollefson. Austin: University of Texas Press.

[10] Bruneau, Thomas C., and Matei, Florina Cristiana. (2008). Towards a New Conceptualization of Democratization and Civil-Military Relations. Democratization , 15(5) December, 909–929.

[11] Burk, James. (2002). Theories of Democratic Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 29(1) Fall, 07–29.

[12] Cihan. (2014). “Gov't and General Staff Split over Controlling Gendarmerie.” Web. Accessed March 23, 2016. <https://www.cihan.com.tr/en/govt-and-general-staff-split-over-controlling-gendarmerie-1568214.htm>.

[13] Demirel, Tanel (2004). Soldiers and Civilians: The dilemma of Turkish Democracy. Middle Eastern Studies , 40(1) January, 127–150.

[14] Desch, Michael C. (1999). Civilian Control of the Military: The Changing Security Environment . Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

[15] Duman, Özkan and Tsarouhas, Dimitris. (2006). Civilianization in Greece versus Demilitarization in Turkey: A Comparative Study of Civil Military Relations and the Impact of the European Union. Armed Forces & Society , 32(3) April, 405–423.

[16] Durgun, Şenol, “The Turkish Bureaucracy as a Guardian of Statist Tradition,” In Turkish Political Life , ed. Şenol Durgun. Ankara: Binyıl Yayınevi.

[17] Feaver, Peter D. (1996). The Civil-Military Problematique: Huntington, Janowitz, and the Question of Civilian Control. Armed Forces & Society , 23(2) Winter, 149–178.

[18] Feaver, Peter D. (1998). Crisis as Shirking: An Agency Theory Explanation of the Souring of American Civil-Military Relations. Armed Forces & Society , 24(3) Spring, 407–434.

[19] Feaver, Peter D. (1999). Civil-Military Relations. Annual Reviews, Nu. 2 , 211–241.

[20] Finer, Samuel E. (2006). The Man on Horseback: The Role of the Military in Politics . 1st ed., 1962. Princeton, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

[21] Gronke, Paul and Feaver, Peter D. (2001). “Uncertain Confidence: Civilian and Military Attitudes about Civil Military Relations,” Paper prepared for the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, 1–50.

[22] Güney, Aylin and Karatekelioğlu, Petek. (2005). Turkey's EU Candidacy and Civil-Military Relations: Challenges and Prospects. Armed Forces & Society , 31(3) Spring, 439–462.

[23] Gürsoy, Yaprak. (2012). The Final Curtain for the Turkish Armed Forces? Civil-Military Relations in View of the 2011 General Elections. Turkish Studies , 13(21) June, 191–211.

[24] Guttieri, Karen. (2006). Professional Military Education in Democracies. In Who Guards the Guardians and How: Democratic Civil-Military Relations , eds. Thomas C. Bruneau and Scott D. Tollefson. Austin: University of Texas Press.

[25] Hale, William (1994). Turkish Politics and the Military . London: Routledge.

[26] “Hasan Celal Güzel: 2007'de MİT'ten bilgi geldi, darbe yapılacaktı!” Web. Accessed March 23, 2016. <http://t24.com.tr/haber/hasan-celal-guzel-2007de-mitten-bilgi-geldi-darbe-yapilacakti,299856>.

[27] Hauser, William L. (1973). America's Army in Crisis: A Study in Civil-Military Relations . London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

[28] Heper, Metin (2011). Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: Toward a Liberal Model? Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 241–252.

[29] Heper, Metin and Güney, Aylin. (1996). The Military and Democracy in the Third Turkish Republic. Armed Forces & Society , 22(4) Summer, 619–642.

[30] Hooker, Richard D. (2003–2004). Soldiers of the State: Reconsidering American Civil-Military Relations. US Army War College Quarterly, Parameters , XXXIII (4), 4–18.

[31] Huntington, Samuel P. (2006). Asker ve Devlet: Sivil Asker İlişkilerinin Kuram ve Siyasası [The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations], Trans. Kazım Uğur Kızılaslan. Istanbul: Salyangoz Publishing,

[32] Janowitz, Morris. (1960). The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait . London: The Free Press of Glencoe Collier Macmillan Limited.

[33] Karaosmanoğlu, Ali L. (2011). Transformation of Turkey's Civil-Military Relations Culture and International Environment. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 253–264.

[34] Karpat, Kemal (1970). The Military and Politics in Turkey: 1960–64. The American Historical Review 75(6) October, 1654–1683.

[35] Kaya, Ayhan (2013). “Erdoğan, Merkel Pleased by Status Quo in Turkey-EU Ties,” Turkish Daily News , September 30, 6.

[36] Middle East Institute (2014). “The Clash of Former Allies: The AKP versus the Gulen Movement.” March 7. Web. Accessed October 5, 2015. <http://www.mei.edu/content/clash-former-allies-akpversus-gulen-movement>.

[37] Müftüler, Meltem. (2015). The Pandora's Box: Democratization and Rule of Law in Turkey. Asia-Europe Journal , Fall, 11 (1–17).

[38] Narlı, Nilüfer. (2011). Concordance and Discordance in Turkish Civil-Military Relations, 1980–2002. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 215–225.

[39] Nielsen, Suzanne C. (2005). Civil-Military Relations Theory and Military Effectiveness. Public Administration and Management 10(2), 61–84.

[40] Nordlinger, Eric A. (1977). Soldiers in Politics: Military Coups and Governments . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

[41] Özel, Necdet (2014). “Turkish Army Says Military Tutelage Over.” January 8. Web. Accessed January 19. <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-army-says-military-tutelage-over-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60759&NewsCatID=338>.

[42] Perlmutter, Amos (1969). Praetorian State and the Praetorian Army: Toward a Taxonomy of Civil-Military Relations in Developing Polities. Comparative Politics , 1(3) April, 382–404.

[43] Sarigil, Zeki (2011). Civil-Military Relations beyond Dichotomy: With Special Reference to Turkey. Turkish Studies , 12(2) June, 265–278.

[44] Sarigil, Zeki (2014). The Turkish Military: Principal or Agent? Armed Forces & Society , 40(1), 168–190.

[45] Shiff, Rebecca L. (2009). The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations . New York: Routledge.

[46] Simon, Jeffrey (1995). Central European Civil-Military Relations and NATO Expansion . Washington, DC: INNS McNair Paper.

[47] Stevenson, Charles A. (2006). Warriors and Politicians: US Civil-Military Relations under Stress . Oxon: Routledge.

[48] Tachau, Frank and Heper, Metin (1983). The State, Politics, and the Military in Turkey. Comparative Politics , 16(1) October, 17–33.

[49] “Top General Says Army ‘Hurt’ by Psychological Operation.” Web. Accessed January 19, 2015. http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-plot-general-idUKTRE80518820120106

[50] Toruk, İbrahim and Guran, M. Salih (2014). The 2014 Turkish Municipal Elections under the Impact of December 17 Process. Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (36) , 287 (281–297).

[51] Turam, Berna (2015). Gülenology. The American Interest , 10(4), Spring, 28 (24–31).

[52] Turkish Daily News (2013). “Former Chiefs Engage in Blame Game over Balyoz.” November 5, 3.

[53] Turkish Daily News (2013). “No Comment, Top Chief Says over Coup Verdicts.” October 22, 1.

[54] Turkish Daily News (2013). “Parliament OKs Change on Coup Pretext Article.” July 15, 4.

[55] Turkish Daily News (2013). “Turkish Army's Top Brass Reshaped on Gov't Terms.” August 5, 4.

[56] Turkish Daily News (2014). “Turkish Gov't Revisits Exempted Military Service before 2015 Polls.” Web. Accessed March 23, 2016. <http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gendarmerie-and-politics.aspx?pageID=449&nID=73487&NewsCatID=458>.

[57] Welch, Claude E., Jr. (1976). Civilian Control of the Military . New York: State University of New York Press.

[58] Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (2013). Turk Silahli Kuvvetlerine Toplumsal Bakış [Societal Look into Turkish Armed Forces]. Ankara: Bilgesam Yayınları, April.

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