ABSTRACT
The impetus to unite and create a modern state, in both Greece and Turkey, came essentially from the outside. Both nations are remarkably homogeneous with a single language and culture, a single religion, and a common revolutionary past. This chapter examines both the Greek and Turkish armed forces on their roles as actors in the political system and, more specifically, as forces of social integration. The 1967 coup was more acceptable because most of the Greek population recognized the politico-socioeconomic factors that led to this action. Turkey's polity possesses two outstanding characteristics. First is the presence of a strong personality, Kernal Ataturk, who shaped, defined, and established principles of behavior for the governing of Turkey and the armed forces. Second, the civilian and military elites' socio-economic backgrounds are similar, and they both hold a significant place in the history of modem Turkey and subscribe to Kemalism.
