Re:RIP Turkey, 1921 – 2017
by _delirium on Tuesday April 18, 2017 @12:33PM
(#14140235)
Believing that a secular state de-facto ruled by the military is the best option for Turkey is certainly a viewpoint people have. I mostly object to calling that situation "democracy".
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Re:RIP Turkey, 1921 – 2017
by dreamcompiler on Thursday April 20, 2017 @12:38AM
(#14154006)
Turkey is not "de-facto ruled by the military." The military has historically taken orders from elected civilian leaders as long as those leaders embrace democracy and equality and the principles of Ataturk. When the civilian leaders veer too far from what they were elected to do, the military steps in and stops it, then retreats. Turkey's military is like the US Supreme Court; it's a check on the ambitions of fanatical would-be dictators who want to divide the country and pit groups against one another. This is certainly not how military coups usually work, which is why I said Turkey was a special case.
(Except this time the coup failed and the dictator won.)