The strained relations with the Western countries and their suspicions concerning the true face of the coup attempt led to belated support for the Turkish government against the putschists. But there has been only one outlier country in this broad picture all the while: the United Kingdom (UK). The UK has become one of the strongest allies of Erdoğan after the July 15 coup attempt.

on July 15, 2016, a coup attempt took place. Erdogan called the riddling coup “a gift from God”. Immediately after, he declared a state of emergency, by-passed the parliament and turned the political system into a one-man rule.

In the new era, Turkey’s increasing detachment from the West underscores a major shift in Ankara’s strategic thinking. With the Eurasianist ideology increasingly emboldened in foreign policy decision-making, Turkey’s relations with the West have grown more strained, and anti-American and anti-Western sentiment among the country’s ruling elite has dramatically ramped up.

Aesop’s fable is quite relevant also in understanding the events of the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016. So far, a one-sided official narrative has dominated the scene and many people bought this version at face value without feeling the need to check its reliability.

The coup attempt staged on the night of 15 July 2016, which was carried out under an obscure, bizarre and unexampled plan, was contained in just a few hours. However, it resulted in colossal adverse impacts in various domains including legal matters.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that anti-Westernism in Turkey has been institutionalized by the Eurasianist-Islamist alliance in the last six years through controlling media, politicizing education and using judicial procedures as instruments of oppression. Defending good relations with the US or the EU became almost equal to treason in Turkey.

It has been five years since the failed coup attempt in Turkey and no one has any clear idea yet what actually happened that night. While the complete narrative and evidence about the failed coup have yet to be clarified, the scope of the reaction by the Turkish government to the coup attempt was quite horrifying.

In the past year, through our various publications, analyses and podcasts, instituDE has strived to shed light on Turkey; its domestic politics, economy, foreign policy and human rights situation. We have worked to provide valuable information and comments on Turkey for the foreign observers as well as the Turkish public. We put effort into raising awareness on the human rights violations and authoritarian practices in Turkey.