Mi̇li̇tary tutelage and Turkey

Democracy is a governance model in which decisions concerning society are made by the people. However, this process can be interrupted by interventions made by the army, and the development of democracy can turn into a problematic process. The interaction of the army with politics in this direction is defined as military tutelage in political literature. This problem, which has become a chronic disorder in Turkish political life, emerges due to a series of interrelated components in social, cultural, economic, political and legal areas, and is based on justifications such as the protection of national interests and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. After the transition to multi-party life, the issue of protecting the achievements of the Republic was added to these justifications. Therefore, the army, which adopted the principle of protecting both the people and the regime, became an active actor in political life. This mission acquired by the army was transformed into an autonomous system surrounding political life with the intervention of May 27. The failing parts of the new political system, which emerged with the 1961 Constitution and was perceived as the institutionalization of tutelage, were attempted to be resolved with the 1971 and 1973 constitutional amendments, and the existence of tutelage was reinforced with the 1982 Constitution. However, the results caused by the interaction of the military, which acted with a protective mission, with political life did not develop as expected. The interruptions of the democratic process with military interventions rendered the will of the people meaningless, ideological approaches in education and social areas created their own opposition, rights violations experienced shook the belief in justice, and the already existing gap in income distribution deepened even more. This study, which examines the military-political relationship in Turkish political life between 1889 and 2017 in the context of causes and effects using the qualitative research method, has reached the conclusion that in order to solve the tutelage problems in the political system, the middle class must be strengthened and democracy must be transformed into a state policy.