The Formation of Turkish Republicanism

Contents Acknowledgments xi Dramatis Personae xiii Introduction 1 Revival of Turkish Interest in Republicanism 3 Republicanism as a Political Tradition 4 1 Shaping the Empire 12 Early Stages of Ottoman State Formation 14 Ottoman Political Thought in the Classical Age 15 Ottoman Perceptions of Decline during the Seventeenth Century 23 The Turn to the West 29 Conclusion 32 2 The Age of Transformation in Ottoman Political Thought: The Reigns of Selim III (r. 1789-1808) and Mahmud II (r. 1808-39) 34 Reactions to the French Revolution 34 The New Order and Reforms of Selim III 40 The Reforms of the Absolutist Sultan Mahmud II 43 Conclusion 49 3 The Tanzimat Era and the Republicanism of the Young Ottomans 50 The Rise of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism and the Reform Movement 51 Ottomanism (Osmanlicilik) 54 The Political Thought of the Young Ottomans: Liberalism, Islamism, and Radicalism 56 Conclusion 84 4 The Positivist Universalism and Republicanism of the Young Turks 86 Comte's Universalism: Uniting the Occident and the Orient through Positivism 88 The Young Turks' Idealism, Republicanism, and Positivist Universalism 92 Humanity in Two Senses 103 Reactions to Ottoman Positivist Universalism 112 Conclusion 113 5 The Political Thought of the Young Turk Revolution 115 Political Activism and Reorganization of the Young Turks 115 The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 118 The New Vision of the Ottoman State and the Impact of French Republicanism: Liberty, Equality, Justice, and Fraternity 126 Conclusion 137 6 Political Thought in the Balkan Wars: The Rise of Authoritarianism, Militarism, and Nationalism 138 The Shift toward Authoritarianism 139 The New Theory of War 141 The Shift from Universalism to National Idealism 147 The New Formation of the State as a War Machine 160 Conclusion 163 7 Ottoman Political Thought during World War I 165 The Conceptualization of the War and Public Opinion 165 The International Turn (1914-17) 169 The Social and National Turn (1917-18) 180 Conclusion 194 8 The War of Independence (1919-22): Road to the Independent Turkish Republic 196 Hakimiyet-I Milliye (National Sovereignty) and Irade-I Milliye (National Will) 197 The Political Language of War Propaganda 207 Conclusion 217 9 The Victory of Radical Republicanism 219 Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate 220 The Proclamation of the Republic 235 Conclusion 241 Conclusion The Ideology of the Early Republic 243 Bibliography 253 Index 283