The impact of Turkish military on foreign policy: RP-DYP coalition government period

Turkish military has always been dominant in Turkish politics as a result of direct and indirect coups and through the prerogatives it had received in the aftermath of each coup. Majority of these interventions were into the domestic politics of Turkey rather than the foreign policies. However, starting from mid 1990s until the end of 1990s, during the rule of Refahyol coalition government, Turkish military dramatically increased its interference into the foreign policy. Through the centers and departments it established, the military even became a significant actor of decision-making in foreign policy by interfering into Refahyol government's attempts to improve its relations with Iran, supporting the progress of Turkey's relations with Israel, permitting the extension of Operation Provide Comfort and backing Turkey's inclusion into the Customs Union. This thesis in an attempt to find an answer to this question— why Turkish military's power in foreign policy dramatically increased during the Refahyol government— will refer to three approaches. First it will analyze this increase with Claude Welch's classification of the "military control with partners" approach that measures different levels of military control in politics. It will argue that military with its prerogatives from the past and with the help of its civilian partners established its control in politics. Then it will examine the case study with the help of Michael Desch's framework on the relationship of civilian control and the intensity of the internal threats. The study will argue that the existence of high external and internal threats will lead to poor civilian control, in other words, strong military control. Finally, the thesis will refer to Joe Hagan's fragmented regime analysis by arguing that when the power is shared between weak political parties, other societal actors such as the military will have a higher chance to intervene into domestic and foreign policies. Keywords: Turkish foreign policy, Refahyol government, civil-militaryrelations, civilian control, internal and external threats, and fragmented regimes.