Troubled by IS (Islamic State) and Kurd separatist instigated violence with a segment of its population resenting state sponsored religiosity and autocratic actions against the media and dissenting voices, Turkey has just faced down a coup attempt by a faction of its armed forces. While there are negative perceptions about his style of governance and foreign relations that have made more enemies than friends the fact is that under President Tayyap Erdogan Turkey’s economy has improved vastly and per capita income is higher than ever before, tourism is booming in spite of terrorist acts and Turkey has become the key country for the West in the fight against the IS and for control of the flood of immigrants into Europe. There is no doubt that President Erdogan is committed to democracy but he favors centralized control to avert unrest, establish civilian supremacy and move the country forward according to his vision of Turkey’s future. Turkey’s armed forces that have an interventionist track record were for years the fierce guardians of Kemal Ataturks secular culture. However with conscription and recruitment from across the country the armed forces could not have been immune to the trends in society or oblivious of its impact within their ranks. The question that will long be debated is whether the coup was driven by a clash of ideologies or whether it was a response to perceived governance failures. It may have been a bit of both as the two could be seen as connected.
Monday 18 July 2016
Turkey’s 24 Hour Coup
Troubled by IS (Islamic State) and Kurd separatist instigated violence with a segment of its population resenting state sponsored religiosity and autocratic actions against the media and dissenting voices, Turkey has just faced down a coup attempt by a faction of its armed forces. While there are negative perceptions about his style of governance and foreign relations that have made more enemies than friends the fact is that under President Tayyap Erdogan Turkey’s economy has improved vastly and per capita income is higher than ever before, tourism is booming in spite of terrorist acts and Turkey has become the key country for the West in the fight against the IS and for control of the flood of immigrants into Europe. There is no doubt that President Erdogan is committed to democracy but he favors centralized control to avert unrest, establish civilian supremacy and move the country forward according to his vision of Turkey’s future. Turkey’s armed forces that have an interventionist track record were for years the fierce guardians of Kemal Ataturks secular culture. However with conscription and recruitment from across the country the armed forces could not have been immune to the trends in society or oblivious of its impact within their ranks. The question that will long be debated is whether the coup was driven by a clash of ideologies or whether it was a response to perceived governance failures. It may have been a bit of both as the two could be seen as connected.
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