Civilianization in Greece versus "demilitarization" in Turkey: a comparative study of civil-military relations and the impact of the European Union

The civil-military-relations literature has long concentrated on domestic factors in explaining the relationship between civilians and the military. This article concentrates on the effect of an external actor, the European Union (EU), on civil-military relations in Greece and Turkey. The main findings reveal that the two countries shared similar characteristics until the mid-1970s. However, their path of civil-military relations diverged considerably as soon as Greece's EU membership prospect became tangible. While in the Greek case, "civilianization" took place, Turkey had witnessed a mere "demilitarization" of its regime. However, the article also shows how EU membership paves the way for the improvement of civil-military relations in the Turkish case. © 2006, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. All rights reserved.