All of this raises the very important question of Turkey's place in the world. In these past few years, the Erdogan government has provided stability to the country and at the same time has convinced the European Union that Ankara deserves to be considered for membership in it. He has made sure that his Islamist leanings do not come in the way of governance, though there are good reasons to think that his being in power has emboldened a large section of Turks into thinking that their country needs to move into an Islamic direction. That was enough to alarm the military, which has traditionally been the guarantor of Turkey's secularism. The last time the army moved in to ensure the continuity of secular democracy was when it forced the Islamist Necmettin Erbakan from prime ministerial office. Erdogan has turned out to be different from Erbakan, if only for strategic reasons. He has little record of trying to undermine the existing foundations of the state. That of course did not stop the soldiers from worrying. They made sure, through a clear behind the scenes role in the demonstrations against the prime minister, that enough voices were raised for secularism in order for Erdogan to back down.

Now that the prime minister has suggested new elections as a way of getting Turkey out of its crisis, it will be interesting to see how the secular opposition and the military respond. It will be unfortunate if Turkey is pushed into uncertainty after all these years of political and economic stability.