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If you’re not up on the latest events in Turkey, here’s a brief explainer about the coup attempt and what brought it about.
Why did the uprising happen now?
Thousands crowd the Bosphoros bridge in Istanbul after the coup failed.
Burak Kara/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Simple answer: The timing may be due to what analysts predicted would be a purge of high-ranking military officials at a military council meeting scheduled for August. The purge was expected to target military officers thought to be close to Fethullah Gulen, a 75-year-old moderate cleric in self-imposed exile in the United States.
The longer answer is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a lot of enemies over his tenure, including followers of Gulen – Gulenists – who were his allies for most of his tenure when he served as prime minister. In fact, it was with the help of the Gulenists that he was able to carry out the previous military purge, which targeted secularist generals and officers.
But after a fallout that started with the government trying to shut down Gulenist educational centers and the Gulenists accusing senior administration officials of bribery, the friction between the former allies became openly hostile. The government now categorizes the Gulenists as a terrorist organization, called FETO. Over the last year, police ranks have been cleansed of Gulenist officers.
Erdogan publicly blamed Gulen as having something to do with the planning of the coup, a charge Gulen vehemently denied. The government has already arrested military commanders and members of the judiciary that it alleges are “would-be junta collaborators.”
In a country that has experienced four coups and three coup attempts, most would argue this was a “sloppy” and “disorganized” try. But more importantly, Erdogan and his supporters have always known that it may come down to trying to stare down a coup attempt.
The normal for Turkey is that any saber-rattling by the Turkish military would either make the democratically elected government back down or resign. Erdogan faced down the military previously when he tried to install his pick for president, Abdullah Gul. When the military objected, Erdogan ordered a referendum and won.
While the would-be junta leaders managed to take over state broadcaster TRT Friday night, more widely watched news channels were all still on air. The piece de resistance was Erdogan on Facetime, calling on his supporters to flood the streets of Turkey, thereby nullifying the junta’s declaration of martial law and a curfew. In fact, officials in Turkey are still calling on people to stay in the streets and squares as a protective measure against any further attempts.
Police try to stop people from attacking a judge, suspected in the failed coup plot, in Erzurum, Turkey on Tuesday, July 19. Turkey has fired or suspended about 50,000 people as the government intensifies a crackdown following last weekend's failed coup attempt. Teachers, journalists, police and judges have been affected.
Onur Saggoz/AP
Police escort Turkish soldiers, accused of taking part in the attempted coup, as they leave a courthouse in Istanbul's Bakirkoy neighborhood on Saturday, July 16.
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
Turkish police officers cover the eyes of soldiers as they are transported in a bus from the courthouse in Istanbul on July 16.
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
Akin Ozturk, front row, center, a four-star general and former commander of the Turkish air force, is among those in police custody whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has accused of having led the failed coup attempt.
Anadolu Agency
In a mass detention in Ankara, dozens of detainees are forced to kneel, partially stripped.
CNN
A man waves a Turkish flag from a car roof during a July 16 march around Kizilay Square in Ankara after the attempted military coup.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Damaged vehicles are abundant outside the presidential palace in Ankara on July 16.
Xinhua/Sipa
People kick and beat a Turkish soldier suspected in the attempted coup on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on July 16.
Selcuk Samiloglu/AP
Women react after people took over a military position on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
People gather outside the Turkish Parliament in Ankara during an extraordinary session after the failed coup attempt.
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images
Turkey Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addresses the Turkish Parliament after the failed coup attempt.
Erhan Ortac/Getty Images
A protester rests on a bench as smoke billows from the Turkish military headquarters in Ankara.
Ali Unal/AP
People stand under a huge Turkish flag during a march around Kizilay Square in Ankara in reaction to the attempted coup.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Members of the Turkish military surrender on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on after a failed coup attempt.
Gokhan Tan/Getty Images
People protesting against the coup wave a Turkish flag on top of a monument in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Emrah Gurel/AP
Clothes and weapons belonging to soldiers involved in the coup attempt are scattered on Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.
Gokhan Tan/Getty Images
A Turkish police officer in Istanbul embraces a man on a tank in the wake of the violence overnight.
Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke billows from the direction of the Presidential Palace in Ankara on July 16.
Burhan Ozbilici/AP
People gather on top of a Turkish military tank in Ankara in the morning after the coup attempt. National intelligence officials said the coup was put down and that the government remains in control.
Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images
Turkish people wave national flags from a car in Istanbul.
Emrah Gurel/AP
People gather around a car damaged by a tank in Kizilay Square early on July 16.
Burhan Ozbilici/AP
People take to the streets near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge during clashes with military forces in Istanbul.
GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images
People escape the clashes in Ankara early Saturday.
Erhan Ortac/Getty Images
Tanks move into position as Turkish citizens attempt to stop them in Ankara.
AP
Citizens in Sivas rush to the streets during the chaotic coup attempt.
Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A man approaches Turkish military with his hands up at the entrance to the partially closed Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.
GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images
A wounded man is given medical care at the entrance to the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul after clashes with Turkish military.
BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
People react in front of the Justice and Development Party's headquarters in Karabuk.
Faik Erez/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Soldiers secure an area as supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Emrah Gurel/AP
Turkish military members make their way through the streets of Istanbul.
Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images
Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in front of soldiers in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Emrah Gurel/AP
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks on CNN Turk via a FaceTime call in Istanbul after members of the country's military attempted to overthrow the government.
Erdogan is loved and worshiped by a good half of the country. The other half detests him passionately.
But coups have gone out of fashion in Turkey, which previously had a record of 10-year coup cycles and poor economic performance that may have swayed even those who aren’t really fond of Erdogan to support him against the would-be junta. When it comes to Erdogan’s popularity, his most ardent supporters routinely profess their willingness to die for him. He’s particularly popular among the poorer, more pious Muslim women who wear the veil and newly prosperous Muslim businessmen. And in a rare display of cross-regional reach, Erdogan supporters straddle the entirety of Turkey. While opposition leaders and parties tend to be regionally restricted, Erdogan has supporters in large and small cities as well as across rural parts of Turkey.
Where does Turkey go from here?
Erdogan speaks to supporters on Saturday in Istanbul.
Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Turkey now faces even more uncertainty. With Erdogan emerging victorious from the biggest challenge a Turkish politician can face, he’s in an even better position to consolidate his power. While he has been pursing his presidential ambitions openly, there were still obstacles and challenges ahead of him. But now, with the military purge already under way, there are concerns about whether it will target the actual perpetrators of the coup or will turn into a bigger witch hunt for anyone opposed to the president.
What does it mean for Turkey as a NATO country and for the international community in general?
Turkey’s NATO membership and its international commitments remain the cornerstone of Turkish foreign policy. But if the power in Turkey becomes even more concentrated in Erdogan, the lines of communication to the Turkish bureaucracy or other state institutions will be severely limited.