Why Take The Risk? Understanding Gulenists’ Involvement in The Thwarted Coup in Turkey

This policy brief examines the role of the FETÖ group in the 15 July failed coup attempt in Turkey, which terrorized Turkey in an unprecedented scale. In particular, the brief studies how the organization’s evolution into a diasporic structure has contributed to its implication in the chain of events leading to the 15 July coup attempt. It seeks to answer the question why the FETÖ group took such high-risk political moves that jeopardized their entire gains in the civic sphere. The brief argues that the apparently ‘irrational behaviour’ on the part of FETÖ is largely because of the fact that it has increasingly internalized a diasporic character and derived power from the international level, as well as building new relationships with international actors.