Danforth: A Ottoman Empire from 1923 to Today

Tags: papers, Post-Ottoman Near East, turkey

Turkish politics hold contradictory viewpoints of Ottomanism, esepcially with the AKP. Before 2010 even Western pundits cited Erdogan’s rapprochement with Syria as neo-Ottomanism, but then after said it was neo-Ottomanism to support the Sunni anti-Assad opposition.

• The empire’s rise and fall were used to justify the founding principals of the republic
• Turkey “reconnected” with the Ottoman “roots” in the 1990’s
• Ataturk’s uncomprising views arose during 1922-1923, where the Sultan still presented a political threat
  • By 1927 Ottomanism could be put in service of nation construction
• 1940 Aziz Sevket Kansu published some bizarre pieces with size of skulls and Ottoman intellectuals as a % of population
  • Similar to race science present in Humanism in Ruins - Discussion Questions
• Historical narratives around the 1930’s see golden era and a fatal decline, but the existance of the Golden era allows the Turks to ascribe a specific “turkishness”

Fatih (conquest) day 1953

• 500 anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Constantiople
• Greatly emphasized the fatih’s (mehmet the conquerer’s) turkish national identity, his revolutionary, pro-Western outlook, and his secularism - pg 16
• Later merging of the republican values with the religious and historical roots of the Fatih
  • Converting of the Hagia Sophia from church to mosque compared to the converting of the Hagia Sophia from mosque to museum

Modern day ottomanism

• Ottomanism made jingoistic nationalism an obstacle to joining the EU
  • Ottomanism then reformed into multi-pluralistic ideas
    • European Capital of Culture contest
• Usefulness of ottomanism as a capitalist tool to sell things
  • AKP’s mercantile class