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Was considered outdated and weak by Kemal, who sought to dismantle it.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