Civil-Military Relations in Israel and Turkey: A Comparative Study on Military Interventions Volume I of II

This dissertation examines and compares civil-military relations in Turkey and Israel with a focus on military interventions in politics. It aims to understand the reasons behind the militaries' political interventions at different levels and in different types in these countries. Through a detailed comparison, it is concluded that historical, cultural and societal legacies; institutional-legal structures; threat perceptions; and strength and ideology of the political leaders determine the type and level of military interventions in Turkey and Israel. This study also shows that significant changes in these factors dramatically altered the nature of civil-military relations in Turkey which almost put an end to the possibility of a future coup d'etat, while the lack of major changes in these determinants in Israel have resulted in the continuation of the behind-scenes role of the Israeli military elite in politics.