Army is one of the largest bureaucratic institutions within a state. However, a sharp hierarchical structure, strong bond between its members and the privilege of possessing weapons differentiate army from other bureaucratic institutions. For this reason, the relationship between military and politics has become a controversial issue in many parts of the world. Especially in countries where democracy is not sufficiently developed, it is quite possible to encounter with examples of military intervention.

Military coups have been the most important examples of this influence in Turkish political history. Through the military coups, the armed forces took control of the government and so hindered the development
of democracy in the country. The influence of the Turkish military on politics has led to the perception that the authority to make decisions
can be transferred to the “unelected persons and institutions” (reserved domains).

With the beginning of “modernity”, many economic, scientific and political improvements were realized in the Western countries which strengthened them considerably in many aspects. This also affected their military power and war technologies they used in the battle field. Successive defeats in the battlefield alarmed the Ottomans to take precautions against the deficiencies of the state which was in a period of
“stagnation”. In other words, the Ottoman elites had to search for “reforms” which would enable the state to regain its strength.

Professional troops in the Ottoman army. They were recruited from among Balkan Christians, converted to Islam, given a thorough education, and placed in high rank in Ottoman military society.

Sultan Mahmud II wanted to make a drastic reform in the military area. The Sultan explained that he would build a new army to be trained and organized in the direction of modern techniques.

Asakar-i Mansure-i Muhammediye

It was alleged that those who were involved in this attempt were
uncomfortable with the reforms which aimed at westernization.

Some soldiers and civilians planned a coup in cooperation in order to dethrone Sultan Abdulmecid and replace him with Abdulaziz. However, the troops which were affiliated to the palace received the news of this coup attempt before it happened. Afterwards, those who attempted the
coup were arrested and tried in Kuleli Quarters. This was one of the first examples of military intervention attempts in modern Turkish political history.

The Committee of Union and Progress was founded in 1889, secretly by the military medical students. The common motivation that united the
founders of the association was the opposition to the administration of Sultan Abdulhamid II.

Also known as Sentinel Association was a secret and unofficial intelligence organization established after the occupation of İstanbul. Talat Pasha ordered the establishment of the organization. Its founders were Kara Kemal Bey and Kara Vasıf Bey. The society was called “kara-kol”; because the nicknames of both founders are “kara”. Karakol organized the soldiers and secretly carried weapons in Anatolia during the War of Independence.  In addition, the members of the Karakol Society organized the first resistance organizations in different parts of Anatolia. 

After the Second World War, the world was divided into two political poles. One of the poles consisted of liberal-capitalist countries led by the
United States while the other block composed of communist countries led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). That time, Turkey
preferred to develop close relations with the Western world. Turkey, for example, became a member of the newly established United Nations. As a result of this preference, Turkey’s transition to multiparty politics was required. For this reason, in 1945, the establishment of new parties was allowed.

In one country, members of the armed forces seize the control of the state. Military coup d’état may be carried out by the high ranking military offıcers or sometimes as a junta in the army.

After the May 27 coup d’état, almost 5,000 military officers were made to retire including the generals and admirals in the army. These officers set up a non-governmental organization called the “Association of Retired Revolutionary Officers” (Emekli İnkılap Subayları Derneği) to return to the army. EMİNSU is the short name of this association. For this reason, members of the association were called EMİNSU. The
association was closed after the September 12, 1980 coup d’état.

The May 27 coup was one of the major political incidents that damaged Turkish democracy. After the transition to the multiparty politics,
the democratic culture in the country began to develop. The May 27 coup demolished democracy and caused the soldiers to see themselves superior to the elected politicians. Moreover, that the coup paved the way for the military to intervene directly into politics has affected the nature of power struggles in Turkey. 

The March 12 military intervention was distinct from the May 27 coup d’état in many aspects. The May 27 coup was carried out by a junta in the army. The high-ranking military officers were not informed about the coup. However, the March 12 intervention was plotted directly by the top army brass. In this way, the army’s top administration showed that it would not allow a coup without its control. In order to provide a legal ground for the military intervention, the memorandum was based on the Article 35 of the Turkish Armed Forces Internal Service Law.

on September 12th, in the early hours of the morning, the Armed Forces took action. It was announced in the TRT that the Armed Forces
had seized the control of the state. The declaration also pointed out that the parliament was abolished and the political parties were banned. In this process, constitution was suspended. All elected politicians, including the mayors, were removed from their posts. Martial law was declared all over the country. The activities of all non-governmental organizations -except Turkish Aeronautical Association (Türk Hava
Kurumu) and the Society for the Protection of Children (Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu)- were terminated. In this way, the coup intervened widely in social life.

The February 28 military memorandum created a big trauma in large segments of society. For example, thousands of girls were forced to leave their schools because they were veiling.  A large number of people were judged and sent to prison with the accusation of their reactionary activities. Some people lost their jobs and professions.  politicians were forced to act in the direction of the army’s demands.

On February 28, the military did not make a usual coup. However, politicians were forced to act in the direction of the army’s demands. They changed the elected government and intervened directly into politics without directly taking control of the country. For this reason, the February 28th Process was called the “postmodern coup”.

Under ordinary conditions, the army is responsible for the external security of a country while internal security is provided by police and gendarmerie organizations. In Turkey, especially because of the problem of terrorism, the Armed Forces, during certain periods, have been responsible of internal security. This is one of the reasons why the
military is influential on politics.

Furthermore, the July 15 coup attempt was a milestone in terms of the destruction of the military“guardianship” of politics. After the coup attempt, a number of legal arrangements were made to reduce the weight of the military forces on the system. First of all, military officers who were involved in the coup and connected with FETÖ were removed
from their posts, and some of them were arrested.

After the coup attempt, standards similar to those in the democratic countries in the military jurisdiction were obtained.