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Kemal Ataturk entrusted the safety of Turkey's future to her youth. In effect, however, it has been the armed forces who have been the protectors of the state. In the past 64 years since the founding of the republic in 1923, there have been three major instances of intrusion, albeit reluctantly, by the military in the political arena. In every instance withdrawal to the barracks was undertaken by the officer corps themselves. This article examines two critical factors as they pertain to the role of the Turkish military in politics. One factor is a historical review of civil-military relations and how the armed forces interpret the sanctity of civilian rule. The other examines officer corps' recruitment patterns that might provide clues as to the perceptions of the corps' role in the Turkish political arena.

Some emphasis on Turkish officer corps recruitment patterns, and their self-image and political role perceptions.

Because of a liberal bias, the social sciences failed to recognize the importance of the military in politics until after WWII. Research in this field still suffers from a weak theoretical & typological basis & from a scarcity of comparative studies. A new typology of the military role in politics is offered, based on five types: servants of the state, pressure group, political force, guardians of the state, & ruling elite. Various theories of causal explanations of military interventions in politics are discussed, with special emphasis on their relationship to the intensity of societal conflict. In considering the effects of military intervention, social scientists tend to support one of two conflicting views: military as promoters of social change vs military as a conservative, pro-status-quo force. Empirical evidence suggests that when popular masses remain passive, military intervention can sometimes promote social change, while in conditions of mass radicalization, the military intervention acts against popular demands & tends to prevent radical social change. For future research, innovative theoretical perspectives & methodology are badly needed. 28 References. AA

Describes the current state of the internal conflict and the role of ideology in light of the global trends.

Does the conflict in El Salvador, conceptualized by the U.S. government as a battle in the cold war, become more amenable to solution if seen strictly on its own terms? The current struggle seems most intelligible as the latest episode in the post-Conquest struggle of a Spanish-descended elite to maintain control of its land against threat from an Indiandescended peasantry. The military and paramilitary conduct of the struggle has alienated the noninvolved civilian population from the government without drawing them to the guerrilla cause. Since neither side can win militarily under present circumstances, a negotiated settlement may be attainable.