Turkey-The Return of the Reluctant Generals

Bibliographic Data

ID4287079
AuthorsBen Lombardi (0000-0001-9352-8039, corresponding author)
Year1997
Volume112
Issue2
Pages191-215
Publication date1997-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Science Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/2657938
OpenAlexW2328313131
LanguageEN
Citations received13

In 1996 and 1997, the international community has watched political events in Turkey with interest and some dismay. The unusual attention to Turkish affairs is largely because of the electoral prominence of Islam, which has raised questions about the overall stability of the secular state founded by Kemal Ataturk. The West's image of Turkey is, to a large degree, grounded on Ataturk's vision of what his country should resemble a program that has never entirely been achieved. Since the reforms of the late 1940s, Turkish democracy has repeatedly been confronted by the threat of political extremism, and the armed forces have as a consequence overthrown democratically elected governments on three separate occasions. Many of the conditions that prevailed at the time of the three coups appear to have returned. As Turkey is likely to continue to be confronted by these issues, direct intervention by the armed forces remains a possibility

Political science · Islamic Studies and History · Turkey's Politics and Society

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