What Factors Influenced Turkish Military Officers’ and NCOs’ Motivation to Serve Prior to the July 2016 Coup Attempt?

Abstract

Motivation is a key factor for the military institution to accomplish its goals. Extant academic research, however, has generally focused on the combat motivation and the motivation to serve has been understudied. This study examines the motivation to serve and its predictors among Turkish military officers and NCOs. The aim of the current study is 2-fold: (1) to test the effectiveness of measures proposed by previous studies in Turkish Armed Forces and (2) to build on the existing body of knowledge by showing the impacts of perceived fairness and satisfaction with social benefits. Survey data, which were conducted only 2 months before the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, were used to assess the motivation. Findings revealed that institutional and moral commitments, organizational responsiveness, perceived fairness, and satisfaction with social benefits were positive significant determinants of motivation to serve, while occupational commitment had a negative relationship with it.

Психологічні Аспекти Управління Мотивацією Особистості До Діяльності В Екстремальних Ситуаціях

“…Аналіз психологічної літератури [1,2,3,4] показує, що на цей час є величезна кількість робіт, в яких розглядаються проблеми професійної мотивації людини, особливостей функціонування мотиваційної сфери та мотивації військовослужбовців. Проте, відсутнє чітке уявлення про порядок застосування методів управління мотивацією в процесі впливу на особистість під час підготовки до діяльності у складних ситуаціях, супроводження діяльності в особливих умовах, реабілітації після інцидентів.…”

Migration policies and practices at job market participation: perspectives of highly educated Turks in the US, Canada and Europe

“…Lastly, migration became a forced condition unexpected because many Turks occupied a prestigious status and felt a strong sense of belonging to their homeland. One survey which collected data from almost 5,000 state officials just two months before the 2016 Coup attempt supported these people's high-level of belonging and motivation to work in Turkish institution (Aydiner et al , 2020). The sacked people of public servant positions were mostly professionals such as professors, judges, teachers, doctors, journalists, police, ministry staff and soldiers, including cadets and retired officers.…”

The Motivation to Enlist Among Kurds

“…There is currently a lack of data on the motivation to enlist in less bureaucratized contexts. For example, although Aydiner et al surveyed a non-Western military (the Turkish), Turkey is still a NATO member with a high degree of bureaucratization; part of this is evidenced by Aydiner et al’s (2019) ability to field the survey over the Turkish military’s high-security intranet that connects all units to Land Forces Command’s headquarters. The common degree of bureaucratization and formalization of rules for accessions and promotions across the cases of previous studies might limit their external validity to cases of non-state militaries with relatively low bureaucratization.…”

“…The blend of institutional and occupational motivation extends beyond active forces to the reserves and national guard (Griffith, 2008). Outside of the United States, Cotton (1981) measured variation in these values within the Canadian military; other studies have examined, for example, the Belgian (Manigart, 2005), British (Edmunds et al, 2016), Indian (Singh, 2017), and Turkish (Aydiner et al, 2019) armed forces. However, all of these previously studied militaries are highly bureaucratized compared to many sub-state forces around the world.…”

“…This lower bureaucratization offers pathways for enlistment that are not available in militaries that rely solely on bureaucratic mechanisms. Previous surveys have focused on highly bureaucratized armed forces, such as the Belgian (Manigart, 2005), British (Edmunds et al, 2016), Indian (Singh, 2017), and Turkish (Aydiner et al, 2019) militaries. Therefore, the case of the Peshmerga offers an opportunity to test the external validity of theories developed and refined in those highly bureaucratized contexts.…”