Abstract:

While democratic principles and practices in Turkey had only begun to sprout after the May 14, 1950 elections, they were severely impacted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) coup on May 27, 1960, aimed at overthrowing the elected legitimate government. Following the coup, which also marked a turning point in the history of coups in the newly established state, Turkey's democracy experienced periods of hiatus with nearly every decade witnessing direct or indirect, modern or post-modern, successful or unsuccessful coups and coup attempts. The post-modern coup of February 28 is one of these periods of hiatus. However, what distinguishes the post-modern coup from other coups is that, instead of direct intervention by the Turkish Armed Forces, it involved the use of what it referred to as "non-military forces," referring to civilian elements. Especially during the 1990s, the inability to establish governments that would ensure political and administrative stability led to an increase in the influence of the military, media, capital, bureaucracy, regional and global powers over civilian politics. It was in such a period that the Welfare Party, which made a significant leap in the 1994 local elections and subsequently in the 1995 general elections, managed to form a Welfare-Path government in coalition with the True Path Party. With the vote of confidence received by the Welfare-Path government led by Necmettin Erbakan, the internal and external political discourse and actions that contradicted the established order attracted the reaction of certain countries with global and regional influence, as well as military and civilian tutelary forces. Military and civilian tutelary institutions, acting under the mission of "protecting and preserving" secular, Kemalist, and Western values, launched an intense psychological warfare to undermine the government, despite Prime Minister Erbakan's cautious and conciliatory words. Throughout this process, various civil society organizations, unions, business groups, judiciary members, universities, and political parties came together under the leadership of the TAF and played an active role in the process that led to the downfall of the Welfare-Path government. This study, focusing on the post-modern coup of February 28, which led to the overthrow of the legitimate government and whose societal traumas have not been fully overcome even after 26 years, aims to reveal the roles of national and international actors in the process, shedding light on the coup that had been talked about for years as an urban legend.

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