Capitalist state, security and social order: Explaining 12 march 1971 memorandum

The 12 March 1971 Military Memorandum has been largely ignored by the existing literature in Turkish political life. However, memorandum is vital to understand today's Turkish political structure. Thus, the principal objective of this study was to understand and explain the historical significance of 12 March 1971 Military Memorandum. The study adopted a relational approach to explore the relations between state, security and social order. The study has been divided into four sections. Firstly, a new formulation of security has been introduced through a critical evaluation of the existing security studies literature. Secondly, the police power as a form of state power has been examined to show the historical centrality of the concept of security in fabrication of liberal social order. Third, a relational state theory is investigated through Gramsci-Poulantzas-Jessop theoretical line. Fourth, 12 March 1971 Memorandum has been analysed by using the concepts of security and reform.