This book examines the effects of the September 12, 1980 coup d'etat, and the January 24, 1980, economic austerity package which changed the Turkish economy and the entire political system.

The decade of the 1980s marked a crucial turning point in Turkey's socioeconomic structure and polity. At the heart of the socioeconomic transformation lay the January 24, 1980, economic austerity package and the September 12, 1980, coup d'etat, both of which altered not only the Turkish economy and societal structure but the political system and external relations as well. The meanings of right and left, modernity and backwardness, and of Turkishness were completely revised. This book shows the nature of this socioeconomic and political transformation and assessses the success and failure of relevant policies as the country prepares to enter the 21st century.