A New Era for Turkey The Attempted Coup of the 15th of July

Abstract

In order to really understand what transpired in Turkey during and after the attempted coup on the 15th of July in the summer of 2016, we have to look at the rise and the evolution of a number of components of Turkish society and the socio- historical background of Turkey. This study will primarily examine the incident that occurred on the 15th of July 2016 and try to understand its impact on the Turkish republic and its people. Hence, this study will try to present a brief political overview of Turkey and its socio-religious strata. The prime actors that will be focused upon and explained are the political and the socio-religious background of the Turkish Republic and the Gülen Movement. Furthermore, this article will try to explain the psycho-sociological aspects of this group which was behind this attempted coup. This article will try to explain how the situation has developed in such a way that not only led to an attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016 but also led to Turkey directly defending itself against three different terrorist organisations. Thus, this article will attempt to evaluate the role and the on-going results of the post-coup attempt in Turkey. As a final point, the article will demonstrate how a religious movement such as the Gülenist movement evolved into becoming a terrorist organisation labelled as FETÖ by Turkey and its allies.