Without a doubt, it is possible to talk about the starting point of the pro-coup convention, in other words about the group or groups that seize power through force. However, with democratization, the first example of “military coups”, which have been implemented as a reaction to the political authorities elected by the people, was first at our agenda with the Committee of Union and Progress. The styles of their own understanding of “democracy” and of their restrictions imposed have been an element which left its mark on the Turkish politics as an important convention until today.
This pro-coup mentality in the Ottoman-Turkish politics first emerged as the military coup on May 27, 1960 in the Republic Period. The May 27 coup targeted the civil power that became victorious in the first democratic elections of Turkey, which adopted multi-party system in 1946, held in 1950 in accordance with the Western standards. As an outcome of the military coup, the Democrat Party was closed; the Prime Minister Menderes and his two friends were executed; and democratic life was destroyed.
However, these are not the only outcomes of the coup, but it also caused significant political and social polarizations that still exist today. With the amendments after the coup, the democratic civil will was prevented to be reflected directly upon the governance of the country. Among the newly created institutions at that time, the National Security Council had authority in execution, the Republican Senate in legislation, and the Constitutional Court in jurisdiction. There was also institutionalization in economy and accordingly as a sui generis (institution) OYAK was formed. These amendments enabled to form the infrastructure of the institutionalization in the governance of the country and the following military interventions.
This first military coup, which occurred on May 27, 1960, is still current and can be a subject of heated debates although it has been 50 years. With the aim of making a contribution to the aforementioned debates and to reminding the May 27 again, this study deals with the May 27 coup from all political perspectives. In this context, the process of adopting the multi-party system and what happened during the Democratic Party (DP) will be analyzed first and then the emphasis will be on the military coup on May 27, 1960 and the National Unity Committee. Lastly, the legislative, executive, and judicial problems caused by the 1961 Constitution issued during the authority of the National Unity Committee will be handled in terms of their relations with the trusteeship institutions formed and the first political developments with the adaptation of the new constitution.
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