Analysts say Turkey's failed 2016 coup reshaped the state

The failed coup of July 15, 2016 and the state response that followed have become a turning point for Turkey, analysts said. The coup attempt lasted less than 24 hours, but its effects are still visible ten years later.

On the night of the coup, a rogue military faction used warplanes and tanks to attack government buildings in Istanbul and Ankara in an attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. About 250 people were killed and another 2,000 were wounded.

After declaring a state of emergency, Ankara began a purge in which hundreds of thousands of people were detained, more than 120,000 were convicted and tens of thousands were dismissed. The source says the sweep deeply affected the army, judiciary and other state institutions.

The legacy of the coup attempt was still present this week, with prosecutors moving on Monday to arrest nearly 1,000 people over alleged ties to the late Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally whose movement Ankara blames for the coup. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the arrests were part of what he called a purification campaign against FETO, Ankara's name for the Gulen movement.

Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci described July 15 as a foundational turning point for Turkey. The government has also marked the date by renaming schools, squares and parks, including the main suspension bridge over the Bosphorus.

Several analysts said the failed coup helped Erdogan strengthen his authority. Gareth Jenkins, a Turkey analyst affiliated with the ISDP think tank, said the state of emergency allowed one person to dominate the state machinery. Official figures cited in the source showed that within two weeks of the coup, 16,000 people were arrested, including soldiers, police, judges and prosecutors, and more than 50,000 people were dismissed, mostly in education.

Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute said July 15 became a turning point for Turkish democracy and said Erdogan used it to target political opponents. Didier Billion of France's Institute for International and Strategic Relations said Erdogan quickly used the moment to strengthen his powers, including through a referendum nine months later that shifted the political system toward a presidential regime. Billion also said judicial reforms significantly weakened judicial independence.

More than 4,000 judges and prosecutors were dismissed after the coup attempt. Jenkins said later judicial cases and Erdogan's influence over the judiciary were a direct result of the coup and state of emergency. Critics say some cases against dissidents and political opponents, including cases involving jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, are politically motivated.

The crackdown also affected the military, civil society and the media. Tens of thousands were dismissed from the armed forces, civilian control was strengthened, more than 1,500 associations and foundations were shut, and many newspapers, magazines, television stations and radio stations were closed. Tol said the initial unity after the coup attempt did not last because of later government policies.