Turkey is a modern state that ranks among the world’s top economies, besides being a Nato member. It was riding on such characteristics that it has long aspired to join the European Union. It was hard to imagine a military coup could be attempted in this era in such a country, but it was late night Friday, creating considerable anxiety. The coup has been put down. But the Army chief was held hostage for a time. The Turkish Parliament was bombed. Order was restored within 24 hours, but it is arguable that a phase of instability may have set in, that could impact regional politics as well as politics in Islamic societies. Many of them looked up to Turkey for its modernity, poised as the country is, geographically, between Asia and Europe.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a consummate politician. He has been in power since 2003 and in this period he has revived full-blown Islamic politics in the country. In the process, Turkey’s secular civil society was pushed back. After the First World War, Kemal Ataturk, an Army officer, had seized power and brought European-style modernity to the country, pushing back the religious-minded sections, precisely the people who have prospered under Mr Erdogan.
Pressing his political gains, the President has increasingly sought to run authoritarian politics, cracking down on secular elements, dissenters, journalists and the intelligentsia, and proceeding on the path of accretion of greater power for himself by seeking to manipulate the Constitution of late. He also revived the anti-Kurd military campaign, and involved his country in the quicksand of Arab politics. The Army, secularism’s traditional bastion, has mounted coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980, and pushed out an Islamic PM in 1997. Evidently, in Mr Erdogan’s Turkey, the character of the Army has been changed imperceptibly, and Islamist-leaning elements have gained advantage.
The coup-makers were so obviously in a minority, as we can see now. The democratically-elected President has won. We hope this would have a calming effect. But any sense of optimism must be muted. More than 2,800 armed forces personnel have been arrested. But an almost equal number of judges have also been rounded up. The judiciary and sections of the intelligentsia in Turkey are said to be influenced by the movement of a former Sufi-style imam, Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-exile in the United States. Mr Erdogan accused him of instigating the coup, a charge that he rejects, and asked the US to extradite Mr Gulen. So, interesting — possibly risky — politics might unfold. Turkey suddenly looks vulnerable.
