The General’s Last Sigh

This chapter highlights how, in many respects, the military (MGK) was the author of its own decline, a result of infighting and internal and external plots and intrigue. By the AKP’s second term, tensions arose within the military’s lower officer ranks about how to deal with what they considered to be the AKP’s challenge to the secular nature of the state. This created disarray within the ranks while at the same time spurious conspiracies to overthrow the government emerged, leading to a purge within the military’s officer class. By the time the AKP entered its third term in office, the military was a spent force in Turkish politics ushering in a new era in the political and cultural dynamics of the country.