Civil–Military Relations and Education of Military Elites in Türkiye: Lessons Learned From the Past

This article analyzes the relationship between civil–military relations and professional military education (PME) in Türkiye before the 2016 coup attempt. Its main argument is that an effective PME system could not be realized due to the problematic nature of civil–military relations. The dominant r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArmed forces and society Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 253 - 273
Main Author Ateş, Barış
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2024
Transaction Inc
Subjects
Autonomy
Cooperation
Elites
Military officers
Military personnel
Military relations
Soldiers
Turkey
professional military education
Turkish military
military effectiveness
coups and conflicts
civil–military relations
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Summary:This article analyzes the relationship between civil–military relations and professional military education (PME) in Türkiye before the 2016 coup attempt. Its main argument is that an effective PME system could not be realized due to the problematic nature of civil–military relations. The dominant role of the military in politics turned PME into a domain reserved solely for soldiers; however, this autonomy did not help the officer corps to create an effective PME system. Based on historical analyses, this article concludes that civil–military cooperation is necessary for developing a successful PME system, and it endorses Mukherjee’s integrated model. Moreover, it shows that civil–military cooperation for the development of PME is a requirement regardless of the nature of civil–military relations.
ISSN:0095-327X
1556-0848
DOI:10.1177/0095327X221103294