Interrogating masculinites of former cadets:The changing dimensions of military masculinities after military school closures in Turkey

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2578323_(Table of contents)

After the coup attempt in 2016 in Turkey, all military schools were dismissed, and all cadets relocated to different universities and high schools. With the government’s attempt to close military schools, former cadets found themselves in a different world and continued their lives in new settings. In their new world, plenty of things began to change including their masculinities. Based upon in-depth interviews with 20 former cadets who studied in military schools between the years 2009 and 2016, this study aims to elicit the inner dynamics of military education in the construction of military masculinities and demonstrate the changing dimensions of former cadets’ masculinities in their civilian lives. At a macro level, the military lost its power in the sociopolitical arena in Turkey and is no longer a powerful shaper of the understandings and performances of men. With the Ergenekon and Balyoz trials, the military fell into a decline in its power. Subsequently, it lost its impact on the political sphere and completely lost its control and power after the coup attempt in 2016. Furthermore, the army is no longer associated with modernity when compared to the previous century. On the other hand, from a micro-level perspective, nowadays most young people can learn about feminism, and some interrogate gender-related issues in todays’ world. Also, there is a myriad of feminist and LGBTI+ groups in the universities sharing perspectives with university students. People can increasingly have more encounters with people different from then and other worldviews and perspectives when compared to a few decades ago. This thesis shows that these macro and micro level developments are associated with the masculinity changes of former cadets in their civilian lives.