Narrating coups as colonial projects: how the AKP reframes the Turkish military after the July 15 coup attempt

This article examines how the Justice and Development Party (AKP) discursively reframes the Turkish military after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, reading AKP-curated narratives in the Ankara July 15 Museum alongside presidential speeches from 2016 to 2025. Official AKP discourse reframes coups as colonial projects: it attributes orchestration to actors it names colonial powers, designates figures within the military as their domestic conduit, and rearticulates guardianship as anti-colonial under AKP authority. By making military legitimacy conditional on this AKP-authored project, the discourse seeks to position the AKP as Turkey's sole guardian, showing how anti-colonial repertoires serve authoritarian consolidation.