ATATURK AND TURKISH REPUBLICMilli & Karina

TURKEY:

BACKGROUND 'Anatolia' under occupation after the

WWI ended, armistice was signed

Istanbul taken over by Allied forces and placed under their administration

Other major cities around the southern Mediterranean coast under the French

Allies wanted to keep Mohammad VI on the throne of the Ottoman Sultan but became powerless as power was now in the West

BACKGROUND Turkey wanted to emerge from war with pride and rebuild as a modern state

Ataturk- Father of the Turks (1881-1938) was a part of the Young Turk Revolution Overthrow of the Sultan's autocratic power by the

Turks, limiting power to restore the Parliament and the constitution

Served in Gallipoli campaign in WWI

Emerged as ideal candidate to lead 'modern Turkey'

OBJECTIVE

Clear foreign troops

Reverse the Treaty of Sevres

Restore authority in AnatoliaTOS formally ended the WWI for the

Ottoman Empire in 1920Between the Entente (Allies), Associated

Powers (including US, Portugal, Japan and the Ottoman Empire

ESTABLISHMENT OF MODERN TURKEY Mustafa Kemal (1881- 1938), later

known as the ‘Ataturk’, began his career in the military, fighting as part of the Young Turks revolution, later the Gallipoli campaign

Sultanate: Ottoman system of government

Was considered outdated and weak by Kemal, who sought to dismantle it.

He aimed to replace the Sultanate with a Republic, however most Turks had strong loyalty to their sultan and the sultanate system

With this in mind he was very subtle in his tactics

MUSTAFA KEMAL AND THE REPUBLIC1920: Establishes power in the city of Ankara instead of the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. A dual power exists for two years between the two.. He sought to show that the Ottoman empire was too dependent on the West and lacking in legitimacy.In January of 1920 the Ottoman Parliament adopted a pact wherein they stated that ‘Turkey’s boundaries were the areas inhabited by Ottoman Muslim majority’. This was considered a highly nationalist message, and once published, British, French and Italian troops occupied Istanbul. This showed that Istanbul was at the mercy of foreign government

CHANGE FROM SULTANATE TO REPUBLIC

The Grand National Assembly in Ankara presented to the people of Turkey, and with the current political situation in mind, the people voted to make the alternative seat of power legitimate.

23 April, 1920: Grand National Assembly makes Mustafa Kemal president1 November, 1922: Grand National Assembly passes a law abolishing the sultanate for good29 October, 1923: Signing of Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey is officially proclaimed a Republic

REFORMS UNDER THE REPUBLIC Reformism/revolutionism

Republicanism

Secularism

Nationalism

Populism

Etatism/Statism

REFORMISM/ REVOLUTIONALISM Reformism was to reinforce state-controlled,

"orderly change"

‘Kemalism’ was seen as a paternalistic ideologyPolicy which governed the people by

providing their needs without giving rights and responsibilities

He 'fathered' the Turks, thinking of better life for them

REFORMISM/ REVOLUTIONALISM

Ataturk aimed to tie in other Western European nations with Turkey

Used them as models for his progress on Turkey The closer to

European neighbours, the better the life

Aimed to strengthen state through establishing one ideology uniting the citizens of Turkey under a centralised model

Cultural Political

REFORMISM/ REVOLUTIONALISM Restricted clothing

Traditional headgear no longer worn and women discouraged from wearing the veil

Encouraged to dress in similarity to the Western European style

Politically, it successfully stopped the regional and ethnical differences in the country

REFORMISM/ REVOLUTIONALISM E.g. the Kurdish (Iranic) transitioned from

traditional dress to modern clothing

Helped introduced mono-ethnic, modern Turkish culture

European calendar replaced Islamic lunar calendar in 1926

REFORMISM/ REVOLUTIONALISM Sunday was the 'rest' day as opposed to Friday which

was a significant shift of Western influence for Turkey

Turkish alphabet with Latin letters replaced Ottoman alphabet

Education was free but compulsory

Writing in similar Western style- one step closer to the Turkish and Western European relation Disabled new generation to read Ottoman script-

which ended their past Qur’an translated

REFORMS UNDER THE REPUBLIC: REPUBLICANISM

October 29, 1923: Treaty of Lausanne signed, Kemal made president, state of Republic declared.1924: Constitution passed stating that ‘sovereignty lay with the people, who elected a parliament, the Grand National Assembly, which then elected the president, who chose the prime minister.’ Civil liberties, however, were still very restricted under Kemal’s rule. 1925: One- party system of Republican People’s Party (RPP) established, any opposition severly discouraged. Opposition were either Rebels, or anti- Kemalists. Elections held every four years, by candidates were

presented by the party themselves. 1931: Press Law was adopted which gave the government the right to close down any newspaper contradicting the ‘general policies of the country’.

REFORMS UNDER THE REPUBLIC: NATIONALISM 1925: Turkish Historical Society was founded. It emphasised Turkey’s pre- Islamic history, and reinterpreted much of Turkey’s history1926: Mustafa Kemal’s memoirs were published, depicting him as the one who led the nationalist movement from the start, branding his colleagues as incompetent1934: ‘History of the Turkish Revolution’ became a compulsory subject in school. 1934: the title of ‘Ataturk’ was bestowed upon Kemal. Describes this title and himself as ‘the immortal leader and incomparable national hero’.

SECULARISM Islam - representation of the past and reminder of the

Ottoman Empire

Separation of the caliphate (religious authority) from the sultanate (political authority)

3rd March 1924- Caliphate law abolished

Religious schools, ministries of religious endowments were abolished Call to Prayer was read in Turkish

Kemalism- strong transition of religion from the State to religion belonging to private sphere

POPULISM  Common interests of the nation were valued

over interests of groups or classes

Fair, as it didn't prevent/ privilege specific groups

Turkish Hearth Movment in 1932

REFORMS UNDER THE REPUBLIC: ETATISM/ STATISM Once of the main Kemalist ideas was that to

strengthen the state; economic planning was introduced and the state now had the predominant role in the economic field

Many of the other countries at the time of the inter- war years were taking a similar approach, after some form of economic crisis and mass food and resource shortages directly after the war

The model taken on by Kemal was a mixture of Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ and Hitler’s planned economy, which at the time was thriving.

KEMALISM IN MORE DETAILKemal’s era was defined by nationalism, republicanism and secularism. Loyalty to a Turkish identity replaced the concept of Loyalty to the Ottoman Ruler. The success of Ataturk, however, was not always consistent.

TURKIFICATION Ethnic minorities were

discouraged from dressing or speaking in their traditional way. The concept of ‘mono- ethnicism’ was encouraged while ‘multi- ethnicism’ was discouraged. This particularly affected the Kurdish people, derogatorily refered to as ‘Mountain Turks’

In 1925 the Kurds revolted against the government in protest. Under law, this lead to a large number of rebels excecuted. The Kurdish Rebellion, as it is known, resulted in 20,000 deportations under the Ataturk.

POLICIESEQUAL RIGHTS FROM MEN AND WOMEN

Kemalism attempted to provide equal benefits and treatment of men and women

1933: 13 female judges in Turkey1935 Elections: 17 women elected into parliamentThese numbers, however, were not maintained, until the 21st century saw a resurgent in the presence of women in parliament

RELATIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD

MosulAtaturk considered the effects of adding Mosul to Turkey

Would increase the strength of Kurdish ethnic minority – dangerous to the newly developed Turkish Republic

Signed several treaties with various countries in Western Europe

BIBLIOGRAPHY Allaboutturkey.com (2006) Ataturk’s reforms - All About Turkey.

[online] Available at: http://www.allaboutturkey.com/reform.htm [Accessed: 22 Aug 2012].

Firstworldwar.com (2009) First World War.com - Feature Articles - The Armistice. [online] Available at: http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/armistice.htm [Accessed: 20 Aug 2012].

Histclo.com (n.d.) World War I -- Turkey Ottoman Empire. [online] Available at: http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww1/cou/w1c-tur.html [Accessed: 24 Aug 2012].

Mtholyoke.edu (2011) The Turkish Revolution of 1908-9.. [online] Available at: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos126.htm [Accessed: 22 Aug 2012].

Unknown. (2012) [online] Available at: http://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TURKEY-BETWEEN-EAST-AND-WEST-Book-Review.pdf [Accessed: 22 Aug 2012].