Turkey: The Permanent Putsch

Turkey s political regime is at present the most anachronistic and most archaic of all Europe. It is a deceitful totalitarianism, in which true power is exercised by the Turkish army. Several institutions, such as the National Security Council, in which members of the military sit, have as their goal the control and censorship of the civilian government. This regime, born of the military coup d état of 1980, is based on the constitution of 1982 in order to place the power of the military on a firmer footing. There furthermore exists a secret pseudo-constitution called the National Security Policy Document, which enumerates the boundary lines for the Turkish state, including the Kurdish problem, the Cyprus issue, and the Armenian Genocide. No solution to these major problems is possible in this system where the military reigns as master. This schizophrenic regime, where elected officials do not hold true power, is characterized by the author as a regime of permanent putsch or permanent coup d état. The process of accession to the European Union plays a large role in the political normalization of the country. In this context, the Ergenekon trial against the putschists of the Turkish army is the first break in dismantling this power. However, much more remains to be done.