While some Turks left the recent rally hopeful that the unity would carry into the political arena and result in greater democracy, there are widespread suspicions that Mr. Erdogan, who has long been criticized for his increasingly autocratic bent, will use the rally-around-the-flag moment to consolidate his grip on the state.

“Erdogan wants the support of the main opposition C.H.P., and he has reached that in terms of creating an atmosphere that would give his supporters the impression that ‘our chief pulled them to his side,’ ” said Aydin Engin, a Turkish intellectual, using the initials of the Turkish name of the country’s main secular party, the Republican People’s Party. “But I believe he is determined to continue with his own agenda.”

Many of Mr. Erdogan’s opponents also fear that once the dust settles, Turkish politics will sink back into their default position of “us” and “them.”

“Many of the political problems dividing the country before the coup are still present,” said Simon Waldman, a political sociologist and lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at King’s College London. “It is easier to be united against something such as a coup, which would have benefited very few people in Turkey, than being united in a shared political vision of the future.”

Analysts also say that public displays of unity stem in part from fears that those who do not partake will be branded coup plotters or Gulenists. After all, Mr. Erdogan has asked Turks to inform on those they believe are connected to Mr. Gulen, adding to the witch-hunt environment in Turkey as the government continues its crackdown.