Political Violence in Turkey, 1975-1980 - The State at Stake

Between the coups of 12 March 1971 and 12 September 1980, Turkey went through a period of intense political violence. Radical left- and right-wing groups clashed in what was virtually a civil war. The period remains an open wound in the country''s history. It led to the harshest military regime Turkey has ever seen, on which it only truly turned the page in the 2000s. This book sets out close, documented analysis of the tactics used by the various protagonists in the conflict, showing how they took over public institutions, first among which was the police. This led to the increasing politicisation of the state. The book demonstrates that, contrary to prevailing conceptions, the myth a "strong" Turkish state viewed as authoritative and autonomous from society needs substantive reappraisal. Rather, the state constituted the prime arena for the political mobilisation which flooded through the state and which, lacking sufficient resources, it was unable to contain. The book analyses the structure, mobilisation, and strategies of antagonistic radical political groups caught up in this dynamic of violence (the far-left organisations and the Nationalist Movement, comprising the Nationalist Movement Party and its satellite organisations). During the 1970s public institutions were the privileged locus for rivalry between the antagonistic radical movements. They were also the site for conflictual interactions between officials who politicised their professional practices, lending their support to the party whose electoral victory would ensure they retained their position. From 1975 to 1980, the state was never "out of play". Quite the contrary, in fact, for its institutions, together with the practices, beliefs, and representations of their members and users, were central to the processes constituting the crisis.>

Product details

• Authors: Benjamin Gourisse, Benjamin (Sciences Po Toulouse Gourisse, Gourisse Benjamin
• Publisher: Tauris, I.B.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.02.2023
• EAN: 9780755646470
• ISBN: 978-0-7556-4647-0
• No. of pages: 232
• Series: Contemporary Turkey
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas; Sociology, Political Ideologies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Middle East / Turkey & Ottoman Empire, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Radicalism, Turkey, Political structures: democracy, Middle Eastern history, Political science and theory