The Politics of the Contemporary Middle East (MEMS), 2014-15)

Week 3: The Rise of Turkish Nationalism

Nations and NationalismEthnic and Civic Nationalism Perennialism and Primordialism Nations as entities that have existed throughout historyModernist explanationsEric Hobsbawn Nationalism and the modern state created nations traced to the early

nineteenth century Both are creations of the bourgeoisie and intelligentsiaElie Kedourie Origins from French Revolution, Kantian philosophy and alienation of elites Language, race and culture used to forge boundaries of nation-stateErnest Gellner Imposition of an elite ‘high culture’ at dawn of industrialisationBenedict Anderson Nations as socially constructed “imagined” communities Importance of print capitalism in local vernacular Ethno-SymbolismAnthony Smith and John Hutchinson “Ethnies” as a precursor to nationalist sentiment and organisation Nations as felt & lived communities. Members share homeland & culture State is the aspiration of a national group

Understanding Turkish Nationalism• Not perennial or primordial• Top-down nationalism

(Tilly)• Ottoman Legacy and

Nationalism as part of state-building process in early republican period

• Republican period break from Ottoman past

• The extent that Islam remained an identity marker

• Ethno-religious community transformed into a nation in face of acute external threat

Trauma and legacy of Ottoman DeclineMillets System• Orthodox/Greek • Armenian• Assyrians/Syriac Christian• Protestants• Jews• Muslim inclusive of all sectsSaving The Empire• Tanzimat period after Edict of

Gulhane, 1839 and 1856 Khatti-I Humaun – The Illustrious Rescript

• Minority rights• Military reforms• Education reforms• Political reforms -1876

parliament and constitution• Better communications system

Islam & Ottomanism: The Young Ottomans Ottomanism and Islam as

means of strengthening empire

Young Ottomans: Intellectual elites who consider means to save the empire.

Many exiled in Europe Critics of the Tanzimat,

Sultan and reforms Concerned not of reforms in

themselves but the way in which they were carried out

Constitutionalists Abolition of 1876 constitution Involved in political affairs as

well as writing plays, poetry, etc

Namik Kemal, 1840-1888Poet and playwright. Coins terms “Vatan” (fatherland) and “Hurriyet “(political freedom).

Ibrahim Sinasi, 1826-1871Pioneer of Turkish newspaper, wrote first Turkish play and book of proverbs

Ali Sauvi1838-1878Journal editor and religious scholar. Died in a coup attempt.

Young Turks, Turkism and the decent to Ottoman collapse• Young Turk Revolution, 1908 • Balkan Wars 1912-13• Radical faction of CUP

enters Govt – Enver, Talat and Cemal.

• Muslim immigration into Anatolia

• Vatan and emergence of Anatolian heartland

• World War 1• Homogenisation • Turkism as ideology• Nationalist writers such as

Ziya Gokalp and Halide Edip are important pillars of new Republican ideology

Ziya Gokalp, 1876-1924 (sociologist, poet) “We Turks must work to create a ‘Turkish-Islamic’ culture equipped with the reason and science of modern civilisation”‘Turkism, Islamism, Modernism, ‘1918

Yusuf Akcura, 1876-1935(Intellectual and editor) Defines Turkishness in purely ethnic terms. Seeks Pan-Turkish unity and move away from Islamic values

Halide Idip Adivar, 1884-1964(Novelist and feminist) Strong independent female characters in novels of a nationalist theme

The Formation of Turkey• Ottoman defeat in WW1• Treaty of Sevres (1920) • Anatolia divided by great powers with Armenian state,

Greek presence, possible Kurdish state and great power zones of influence

• Mustafa Kemal launches revolution in Samsun in May 1919• Establishes Grand National Assembly in Ankara• Ottoman Govt issues Fatwa against Nationalists. Counter

Fatwa made• Turkish-Armenian War – Oct-Dec 1920• Franco-Turkish War (May 1920-October 1921• Final stages of Greco-Turkish War, 1919-22• Treaty of Lausanne and Proclamation of the Republic, 1923

The Rise of the Turkish RepublicState Building:• Abolishment of the office of the Sultan (Nov

1922), Caliph (March 1924) • Reform of headwear and dress, 1925• Closure of mausoleums and dervish lodges

(Nov 1925)• Shift from Muslim to Christian Era in 1925• March 1926: Banning of Sharia law: new secular

penal codes passed • Oct 1926: Turkish Civil Code passed: Women

gained equality with men in matters such as divorce and inheritance.

• Arabic Script abolished in 1928Nation-Building and Identity:• Islam and the War of Independence• Shared memory• Immigration policies and homogenisation • Language reform and history thesis• ‘Citizen Speak Turkish’• Converging Muslim Identities

Notes on Turkish Nationalism• Inclusive/Exclusive Paradox• Top-down state and nation building process• Role of Islam as marker for defining Turkish

nation• The Kurdish question emerges• Legacy of Ottoman Empire and Millet system• Turbulent relationship between role of Islam,

state and national identity• Multiple theories can be employed to

understand Turkish nationalism