Between Military Rule and Democracy: Regime Consolidation in Greece, Turkey, and BeyondWhy do the armed forces sometimes intervene in politics via short-lived coups d’état, at other times establish or support authoritarian regimes, or in some cases come under the democratic control of civilians? To find answers, Yaprak Gürsoy examines four episodes of authoritarianism, six periods of democracy, and ten short-lived coups in Greece and Turkey, and then applies her resultant theory to four more recent military interventions in Thailand and Egypt. Based on more than 150 interviews with Greek and Turkish elites, Gürsoy offers a detailed analysis of both countries from the interwar period to recent regime crises. She argues that officers, politicians, and businesspeople prefer democracy, authoritarianism, or short-lived coups depending on the degree of threat they perceive to their interests from each other and the lower classes. The power of elites relative to the opposition, determined in part by the coalitions they establish with each other, affects the success of military interventions and the consolidation of regimes. With historical and theoretical depth, Between Military Rule and Democracy will interest students of regime change and civil-military relations in Greece, Turkey, Thailand, and Egypt, as well as in countries facing similar challenges to democratization. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 A Theory of Regime Change and Military Interventions | 21 |
From the National Schism to the Collapse of the Junta | 53 |
From the Republic to Military Tutelage | 77 |
Consolidation and Deconsolidation of Democracy in Greece | 106 |
6 More of the Same? Turkey under Coalition Governments and OneParty Dominance | 132 |
Thailand and Egypt | 158 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alfred Stepan Ankara armed forces Athens authoritarian regime business elites businesspeople chapter civil-military relations civilians constitution costs of suppression costs of toleration countries Coup d’État Democratic Consolidation economic crisis economic elites Egypt elections electorate elite groups Elites threatened Erdoğan established European Eurozone Greece Greece and Turkey Greece’s Greek Greek and Turkish hard-liner increased interests interviews Islamist Istanbul Journal junta Kurdish leaders leftist lower classes mainstream ment Metaxas mili military intervention military officers military’s mobilization Mubarak National Nikiforos Diamandouros nomic opposition organized Outcome parliament PASOK percent Perception of threat period policies political elites political parties politicians Polyarchy president Prime Minister protestors protests radical reforms regime change repression Republican result royalists rule SCAF secular short-lived coups significant social society splits SYRIZA tary Thailand Thaksin tion transition Turkey Turkey’s Turkish Armed Forces Turkish Politics Türkiye TÜSİAD unconsolidated authoritarian unconsolidated democracy University Press Venizelist Venizelos Veremis vote voters