Abstract : On the night of 15 July 2016, Turkey witnessed its bloodiest coup attempt in the history of the Republic. The very essence and symbols of Turkish democracy came under bombardment for the first time. But despite its brutality and seriousness, the coup was an utter failure. This expert brief attempts to understand why it failed and what lessons can be learned for coup-proofing and the future defense of Turkish democracy. The brief is composed of four sections. It first outlines a trajectory featuring the decline in successful military coups in Turkey. Then, it analyses that as a result of major socio-economic and socio-political changes in Turkish society. Finally, the brief identifies the challenges of formulating coup-proofing policies in emerging democracies and concludes with broader comparative practices.
About the Author:
Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, at the University of Exeter and an Associate Fellow at Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) in London. He is the author of The De-Radicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements, the first book on transitions from armed to unarmed activism by several Islamists organisations in North Africa. His most recent publications include a Brookings study entitled “Collusion to Collision: Islamist-Military Relations in Egypt” and a United Nations’ co-authored study on security sector reform in the aftermath of the Arab-majority uprisings entitled “An Overview of the Arab Security Sector: Legacies, Functions and Perceptions.” He is a regular contributor to media outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, CNN and others. His op-eds are published in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Guardian, al-Jazeera.net, BBC.co.uk, CNN.com, and other media outlets.
Research Interests: Security Studies, Civil-Military Relations, Security Sector Reform, and Islamist-Military Relations with a Focus on Egypt and Libya.