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Coup attempt could cost Turkey more than military might

Many observers fear that measures to radically reshape Turkey’s once all-powerful military are already affecting freedom there.

Major Sukru Seymen (C), one of the military personnel suspected of being involved in the coup attempt, is brought to a court house as he is accompanied by police officers and other detaniees in Mugla, Turkey, August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY      - RTX2LGHG
Maj. Sukru Seymen (C), one of the military personnel suspected of being involved in July's coup attempt, is brought to a court house accompanied by police officers and other detaniees in Mugla, Turkey, Aug. 17, 2016. — REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz

One month has passed since Turkey’s failed coup and many questions remain. Where is Turkey heading now? Will it anchor itself within the family of democratic nations, or perhaps navigate through uncharted waters toward something new?

Turkey has always been larger than itself. With its legacy of an empire that survived centuries and stretched over the most precious real estate of today’s geopolitics, and thanks to its peculiar cultural and religious features, any development Turkey lives through will have ramifications beyond its territorial boundaries.

The failed coup has affected the regional order and the international system as a whole.

Many of the questions asked in the days following the coup, of course, found their answers. However, it is still, to a large measure, shrouded in mystery.

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