Professionalism and Institutionalism in the Turkish Armed Forces: Examining the Implications of an All-Volunteer Turkish Military.

Considerable attention has been paid to the impact that the implementation of an all-volunteer force (AVF) has had on civil-military relations, particularly among NATO countries. As the second largest military force in NATO, I will examine the implications of Turkey's potential transition from a conscription-based to an AVF in the context of civil-military relations. I hypothesize that the history of civil-military relations, the ideological emphasis in military training on service as a sacred duty, and the social significance accorded to military service in Turkish society will create a high degree of social and cultural resistance against the implementation of an AVF. I argue that the particular historical and social contexts of civil-military relations in Turkey have created a perceived incompatibility between military institutionalism and professionalism and will likely play a significant role in shaping the success of a possible transition to an AVF as well as the impact that such a transition will have on civil-military relations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]