- ISSN: 2311-8148
- EISSN:
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oa Back in the Barracks But Not Forgotten: Lasting Cultural Legacies of the Turkish Armed Forces
- Source: Journal of Georgetown University-Qatar Middle Eastern Studies Student Association, Volume 2014, Issue 1, Jun 2014,
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- 13 January 2014
- 13 March 2014
- 01 June 2014
Abstract
The proliferation and shifts of culture across generations is a topic that affects national policy, distribution of economic controls, and social norms that dictate what young people choose to do and what to not do. In the case of the Republic of Turkey, a large facet of culture has been built on the civil-military dynamic that puts the Turkish Armed Forces as guardians of the nation from both foreign threat and domestic cultural shifts. However, the recent emergence of civilian control over the military puts this cultural role in question. This paper examines the spheres of higher education, conscription, and media, three areas the military has typically used to socialize youth, and what the effect of civilian control has been. This research found that the AKP-led government has chosen to assimilate militarism in socialization of youth, and that has deep implications for the educational, vocational, and military structures young Turks will enter.
