Analysis of the transformation in the gendarmerie organizations in the 21st century (A comparison between Türkiye and France)

The main theme of this thesis is the comparative analysis of structural reforms and transformations of gendarmerie organizations in the world since the last quarter of the 20th century, from a historical and legal perspective. Gendarmerie organizations, present in about 62 countries in the world, have become a subject of discussion after the implantation of neoliberal ideas in public administration, concerning their military status, civilian oversight, weak coordination with the police in the fight against crime and finally subordination to political and administrative authorities. These debates, which intensified after the 1990s, led to the initiation of significant structural reforms regarding the status, affiliation, human resources, and coordination of gendarmerie organizations with other law enforcement agencies. The gendarmerie reforms in question show us three different characteristics in Europe and in Türkiye: Unification of the gendarmerie within the national police (Fusion- the example of Belgian and Austrian); bringing the gendarmerie closer to the police /affiliation of the gendarmerie to the minister of interior (Rapprochement/rattachement - the example of France ); and equalization of the gendarmerie with the police in many aspects (Equalization-the example of Türkiye). In this study, French Gendarmerie has been chosen as an element of comparison with the Turkish Gendarmerie. Because, France is the country where the gendarmerie system was set up for the first time (1791) in the world and it occupies, such as the Turkish gendarmerie organization, an important place among the world gendarmerie organizations. On the other hand, both countries are very similar to each other in terms of their central and local administrative systems as well as their internal security organizations. In this comparative study between Türkiye and France, we have seen that, paradoxically, on the one hand, the French gendarmerie has been made closer to the national police, and on the other hand its military status and cultural characteristics have been preserved. While in the reform of the Turkish Gendarmerie, performed in a short time, it should be noted that the gendarmerie is successfully equated with the National Police in many respects, including its military status, its initial training and the authority to which it is attached. However, it should be pointed out that these important transformations within the Turkish gendarmerie may endanger its gendarmerie identity in the long term. In this comparative study, conducted from a historical and legal perspective, a model proposal is also presented within the framework of the ongoing reform of the organization of the Turkish Gendarmerie, inspired by certain good practices observed in the reform of the French Gendarmerie.