Turkey Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used the term "parallel state" (or "parallel structure") to describe followers of
Fethullah Gülen who occupy senior bureaucratic and judicial positions, which have been accused of attempting to bring down Erdoğan's government. This is in contrast to the meaning of the term initially coined by Paxton, and instead resembles the term "state within a state." Gülen's
Cemaat movement, which has a large presence within Turkey, has allegedly been involved in limiting the power of the
Turkish Armed Forces through the
Ergenekon trials and the
Sledgehammer case while allied with Erdoğan. Following the
2013–14 protests against Erdoğan's government, the Cemaat Movement turned against Erdoğan, who thereupon labelled them as a "parallel state." Erdoğan has blamed Gülen's followers on orchestrating the
2013 government corruption scandal, as well as the
2016 coup attempt. ==See also==