Crossing Identities and the Turkish Military

Military cultures, as a rule, do not change easily. Turkish military culture stands out here, however, having undergone several stark changes within the last century.°°This book focuses on modern Turkish politics by giving special reference to civil-military relations and military culture. Turkish people give very strong importance on soldiery and even sanctify the status of ‘martyrdom’. This obliges us to analyse cultural determinants of civil-military relations to understand the reasons of ongoing military interventions in politics. °°Under which circumstances do Turkish military officers believe that military rule is more favourable than civilian rule? Why did the Turkish people applaud a number of military interventions in the past? To answer these questions we analysed Turkish military culture comprehensively and separated its transformation into three periods, namely revolutionist (1908–1945), guardianship (1945–1999) and depoliticization (1999–2013). While analysing each part, we also noted their impacts on Turkish politics and Turkish society as well as the reasons that shape the so-called close linkage between military and society.