American Policy and Proliferation of Media as Causes of a New Type of Coup after the Cold War? Evidence from Turkey

Abstract

Several cases of coups d’état in the post-Cold War period suggest that, in some coup-prone countries, the classical way of taking over governments by armies may have given way to new coup mechanisms. However, students of military politics have yet to study in sufficient depth the nature and reasons for new type(s) of coups. Taking its cue from these cases, this article studies the deviant single case of the February 28th coup process in Turkey in 1997, which entirely diverged from the old textbook coup method the Turkish military had excelled at executing during the Cold War. In seeking to explore the conditions under which the Turkish army chose to follow a new coup playbook, this article focuses on two factors: the distinct American position that vetoed a hard coup and the end of the state’s monopoly on TV broadcasting.