Integration of military into a democratic system: Morris Janowitz and the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016

Abstract

Throughout the history of the Turkish Republic, a series of military coups and memorandums occurred, which deeply impacted political life and interrupted civilian rule up until the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016. From the early years of the Republic, the decisive power of military actors over politics (military tutelage) created the groundwork for these interventions. The failed coup attempt was considered the last and most striking example of the long-standing tradition of military intervention in Turkish political history. This event, which constituted the subject of this study, was significant as it demonstrated that the interventionist tradition of the officer corps remained alive. Morris Janowitz’s “The Professional Soldier” perspective offered a vital context for civil-military relations in Türkiye, with its theoretical framework suggesting a decreased tendency for modern armies to intervene in politics. The failed coup attempt, however, revealed that professional soldiery norms had been violated, necessitating the questioning of assumptions regarding the end of the coup era. Moreover, this incident simultaneously brought forth a practical application of Janowitz’s theory in favor of civilian control. Since July 15, reforms accelerating civil-military harmony and civilian oversight in the military domain consolidated civilian authority. This study, by examining the transformation of civil-military relations through historical analysis, suggested that these relations in Türkiye should have been viewed as a long-term process, and the coup attempt was evaluated as a critical turning point favoring the civilian side within this process.