Ataturk and Turkish Republic

1. Ataturk and Turkish Republic TURKEY: Milli & Karina

2. 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

3. 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'

4. Objective • Clear foreign troops • Reverse the Treaty of Sevres • Restore authority in Anatolia • TOS formally ended the WWI for the Ottoman Empire in 1920 • Between the Entente (Allies), Associated Powers (including US, Portugal, Japan and the Ottoman Empire

5. 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of the Young Turks revolution, later the Gallipoli campaign • Sultanate: Ottoman system of government • Was considered outdated and weak by Kemal, who sought to dismantle it.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

6. Mustafa Kemal and the Republic 1920: 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

7. 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 president 1 November, 1922: Grand National Assembly passes a law abolishing the sultanate for good 29 October, 1923: Signing of Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey is officially proclaimed a Republic

8. Reforms under the Republic • Reformism/revolutionism • Republicanism • Secularism • Nationalism • Populism • Etatism/Statism

9. Reformism/ revolutionalism • Reformism was to reinforce state-controlled, "orderly change" • ‘Kemalism’ was seen as a paternalistic ideology • Policy which governed the people by providing their needs without giving rights and responsibilities • He 'fathered' the Turks, thinking of better life for them

10. Reformism/ revolutionalism Cultural Political • 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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’.

15. Reforms under the Republic: Nationalism 1925: Turkish Historical Society was founded. It emphasised Turkey’s pre- Islamic history, and reinterpreted much of Turkey’s history 1926: Mustafa Kemal’s memoirs were published, depicting him as the one who led the nationalist movement from the start, branding his colleagues as incompetent 1934: ‘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’.

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. KEMALISM in more detail Kemal’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.

20. 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.

21. POLICIES Kemalism attempted to provide equal benefits and treatment of men and women 1933: 13 female judges in Turkey 1935 Elections: 17 women elected into parliament These numbers, however, were not maintained, until the 21st century saw a resurgent in the presence of women in parliament EQUAL RIGHTS FROM MEN AND WOMEN

22. Relations with the outside world Mosul • Ataturk 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

23. 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].