Polarization of Turkish Society and Technologies of “Network Revolutions”: The Experience of 2013, the military Coup of 2016 and a Look into the Future

Abstract

The authors of the article, basing on the structural-functional method of system approach, investigate the long-term confrontation in Turkey between the supporters of national independence (neo-Ottoman system) and integration into the liberal-democratic paradigm of the collective West (secular system). The Taksim-Gezi mass protests in 2013 and the attempted military coup on July 15, 2016 by supporters of Fethullah Gulen (“Feto”) are examined through the prism of the methodology of influencing the “pillars” of the political regime. The tools of mass communication, coordination, and mobilization of the population during the mentioned period are studied. The publication uses content analysis and behavioral analysis of user search queries in Google Trends. The successful counteraction of the “neo-Ottoman” system to the challenges of the “secular” camp, internal opposition, as well as the role of R. T. Erdogan in maintaining the balance of power in the country is underlined. In conclusion, the author highlights the possible risks to Turkey’s stability in the future, associated with changes in the political situation and the opposition, in case of a change of leadership in the country. The study is aimed at developing a methodology for determining the cycles of protest activity and the involvement of the population in these events. This will make it possible to predict the level of stability of the political regime to “network revolutions” and coups d'état.