THE HISTORY OF MILITARY COUPS IN TURKEY

Abstract

The history of military coups has a considerable place in Turkish political life. The Janissary revolts in the Ottoman period are accepted as the beginning of the military coup tradition and interventions in Turkish political life. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, took off his military uniform and wore his civilian attire when the War of Independence started. This is because Atatürk believed that real and powerful democracy could only be achieved by civilian governments. However, the military juntas argued that the soldiers were permanent guards of the Republic and had the right to protect the integrity and interests of the country under all circumstances. These are the May 27, 1960 military coup, March 12, 1971 military memorandum, September 12, 1980 military coup, February 28, 1997 Post-Modern coup and the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt. All military coups inevitably destroyed the Turkish democracy. In fact, in every military coup, traces of foreign powers, the US being in the first place, can be seen. That's why this study aims to enlighten the history of coups in Turkey in order to prevent possible future military coup attempts in Turkey. During this study, important newspapers and magazines, as well as archival documents, books, and articles were benefited from.