After a night of uncertainty and fear, the military coup in Turkey, that included attacks on the Turkish Parliament, seems to have been thwarted. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier been forced into hiding and, ironically, had to address the nation through Facetime, is seemingly back at the helm. The Army Chief who was reportedly taken hostage has also been rescued, while groups of soldiers have been seen 'surrendering' in Istanbul. There is still chaos in the streets and some fighting continues, but for the most part, the situation seems to be under control.
There is a lot about this coup that we don't know yet, however, initial assessments indicate that the coup was attempted by one as yet unidentified section of the Turkish military to oust Erdogan and "reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedom". Given that Erdogan is the democratically elected leader of the Turkey, this may seem odd but let's not forget that the Turkish military has a history of removing civilian leaders in the name of "restoring democracy".
Moreover, Erdogan himself had become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, and his hardline Islamist leanings have a been a matter of concern in recent years. This is not to justify the coup in any manner (though the relatively soft response of some countries that are forever extolling the virtues of democracy to this egregious act is telling) but only to argue that there is more to it than meets the eye.
For one, the military coup seems to have been scuttled by the police force. And the public. Second, in the aftermath of the coup, hundreds of military officers and generals have been arrested while Erdogan, with the full support of the political establishment and the people, has come home to a hero's welcome. No matter how despicable he had been in the recent past, he has now emerged as Turkey's beacon of democracy. These are still early days, but do not be surprised if this so-called coup turns out to be an excuse for Erdogan to crush his opponents within the military and push an even more hardline Islamist view in Turkey.