English » 70072 The Army and Political Elites in Contemporary Turkey

70072 The Army and Political Elites in Contemporary Turkey

Efthymia Kanner

Lecturer

canner[at]turkmas.uoa[dot]gr

3 hours per week

Course Objectives

Students completing the course should be able to:

Perceive the role of the Turkish army in its historical dimensions –i.e. to perceive it in its social transformations.
Understand Turkish army not only as a conveyor of the messages of the Turkish nationalism but also as an agent of the transformation of the Turkish nationalism and of the construction of the official ideology in Turkey.
Relate the political role of the Turkish army with Turkey’s social and economic structures.
Interpret in this context the changes to the status of the Turkish army during the last years.

Course Structure

The course is structured around the following axes:

The Turkish army in the country’s political life/military coups d’état and the Turkish Republic.
Turkish political culture and legitimisation of military interventions in Turkey.
The social status of army officers .
The role of the army in the country’s economy.
The army and social movements in contemporary Turkey.
Changes in the political and social positions of the Turkish army since the 2000s.

These topics are approached through historical sources and documents presenting the current situation in Turkey. They are also theoretically contextualised. The course takes the form of a dialogue based on sources and bibliography available in the e-class platform.

Assessment

Assessment takes place: (a) by means of a written assignment of 2.000 words (30% of the overall grade) on topics related to the course. A list of recommended titles is provided. Students are encouraged to present a draft of their assignment during the last session for comments by the teacher and the students; (b) by means of the final written exams (70% of the overall grade).

Required Readings

Insel, Ahmet – Bayramoğlu, Ali (eds.), 2004, Bir Zümre, Bir Parti. Türkiye’de Ordu, Birikim Yayınları, Istanbul [Greek Edition, 2007, Vivliorama Publishers, Athens].

Karabelias Gerassimos, 2009, Ο ρόλος των ενόπλων δυνάμεων στην πολιτική ζωή της Τουρκίας και της Ελλάδας. Συγκριτική ανάλυση των μεταπολεμικών στρατιωτικών επεμβάσεων, 1945-1980, [Armed Forces’ Role in Turkey’s and Greece’s Political Lives. Comparative Analysis of the After World War II Military Interventions] (in Greek), Hellenica Grammata Publishers, Athens.

Lewis, Bernard, 1961, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, Vols I.,II., Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto, [Greek Edition, Athens 2002, Papazisis Publishers].

Özkırımlı, Umut- Sofos Spyros A., 2008, Tormented by History. Nationalism in Greece and Turkey, Hurst & Company, London [Greek Edition, Athens 2008, Kastaniotis Publishers].

Bibliography

Insel, Ahmet –Bayramoğlu, Ali (επιμ.), Ο τουρκικός στρατός. Ένα πολιτικό κόμμα, μια κοινωνική τάξη, μτφρ., Κωνσταντίνα Ανδριανοπούλου, Αμαρυλλίς Λογοθέτη, Ηλεάνα Μορώνη, επιμέλεια, Σία Αναγνωστοπούλου- Στρατής Μπουρνάζος, Βιβλιόραμα, Αθήνα 2007.

Καραμπελιάς, Γεράσιμος, Ο ρόλος των ενόπλων δυνάμεων στην πολιτική ζωή της Τουρκίας και της Ελλάδας. Συγκριτική ανάλυση των μεταπολεμικών στρατιωτικών επεμβάσεων, 1945-1980, Ελληνικά Γράμματα, Αθήνα 2009.

Lewis, Bernard, Η ανάδυση της σύγχρονης Τουρκίας, τόμος Ι: Τα στάδια της ανάδυσης, μτφρ. Π. Κωνσταντέας, επιμέλεια-μετάφραση-σχολιασμός Στέφανος Παπαγεωργίου, Παπαζήσης, Αθήνα 2001.

–– Η ανάδυση της σύγχρονης Τουρκίας, τόμος ΙΙ: Όψεις της αλλαγής, επιμέλεια- μετάφραση-σχολιασμός Στέφανος Παπαγεωργίου, Παπαζήσης, Αθήνα 2001.