Liberalism In Turkey
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Liberalism was first introduced in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
during the
Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
period (1839–1876) of reformation, following the Edict of Gülhane in 1839. The reforms encouraged
Ottomanism Ottomanism or ''Osmanlılık'' (, . ) was a concept which developed prior to the 1876–1878 First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could create the Unity of the Peoples, , needed to keep religion-based ...
among the diverse ethnic groups of the Empire and attempted to curb the
rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire The rise of the Western notion of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottoman ''millet'' system. The concept of nationhood, which was different from the preceding religious community concept of the millet sys ...
. This led to the Armenian National Constitution in 1863 and subsequently the Ottoman constitution of 1876 which was advocated for by the
Young Ottomans The Young Ottomans (; ) were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the '' Tanzimat'' reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans soug ...
. The Young Ottomans considered the modern parliamentary system to be a restatement ''
shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...
'', that had existed in early Islam. The
First Constitutional Era The First Constitutional Era (; ) of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 (, , meaning ' Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law' in Ottoman Turkish), written by members ...
, ended two years later in 1878 when Sultan Abdül Hamid II, suspended the constitution and parliament in favor of a return to absolute monarchy. Citing social unrest in the wake of the Ottoman's defeat in the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...
,
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
took the opportunity to suspend parliament. Several decades later, another group of reform-minded Ottomans, called the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
, repeated the Young Ottomans' efforts, leading to the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
in 1908 and the beginning of the
Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...
. Whereas the short
First Constitutional Era The First Constitutional Era (; ) of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 (, , meaning ' Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law' in Ottoman Turkish), written by members ...
lacked political parties, the second era initially featured unprecedented political pluralism within the empire and openly contested
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
.


History

On 30 May 1876, Murad V became the Sultan when his uncle Sultan
Abdülaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 1876 Ottoman coup d'état, overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother ...
was deposed. He was highly influenced by French culture and was a liberal. He reigned for 93 days before being deposed on the grounds that he was supposedly mentally ill on 31 August 1876; however, his opponents may simply have used that as a pretext to stop his implementation of democratic reforms under a constitution.Palmer, Alan. ''The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire'', 1992. Page 141–143.


Constitutional era

Constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...
was introduced in the Ottoman Empire by liberal intellectuals like Beşir Fuad, Hekim Ismail Pasha, and Ahmed Zühdü Pasha, who tried to modernize their society by promoting development, progress, and liberal values.


Tanzimât

The Tanzimât, literally meaning ''reorganization'' of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the
First Constitutional Era The First Constitutional Era (; ) of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 (, , meaning ' Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law' in Ottoman Turkish), written by members ...
in 1876. Although the motives for the implementation of Tanzimât were bureaucratic, it was supported by Dimitrios Zambakos Pasha, Kabuli Mehmed Pasha, the
Young Ottomans The Young Ottomans (; ) were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the '' Tanzimat'' reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans soug ...
secret society, and Midhat Pasha, who is also often considered one of the founders of the Ottoman Parliament. Many changes were made to improve civil liberties, but many Muslims saw them as foreign influence on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by the state. A policy called
Ottomanism Ottomanism or ''Osmanlılık'' (, . ) was a concept which developed prior to the 1876–1878 First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could create the Unity of the Peoples, , needed to keep religion-based ...
was meant to unite all the different peoples living in Ottoman territories, including Muslims and non-Muslims, Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and Jewish, Kurd, and Arab. The policy officially began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839, declaring equality before the law for both Muslim and non-Muslim Ottomans. The Tanzimât reforms began under Sultan Mahmud II. On November 3, 1839, Sultan Abdulmejid I issued a
hatt-i sharif Hatt-i humayun ( , plural , ), also known as hatt-i sharif ( , plural , ), was the diplomatics term for a document or handwritten note of an official nature composed and personally signed by an Ottoman sultan. These notes were commonly written b ...
or imperial edict called the Edict of Gülhane or Tanzimât Fermânı. This was followed by several statutes enacting its policies. In the edict the Sultan stated that he wished ''"to bring the benefits of a good administration to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire through new institutions."'' Among the reforms, were the abolition of slavery and slave trade,NTV Tarih
history magazine, issue of July 2011. ''"Sultan Abdülmecid: İlklerin Padişahı"'', pages 46-50. (Turkish)
the decriminalization of homosexuality, the establishment of the Civil Service School, an institution of higher learning for civilians,Cleveland & Bunton, ''A History of the Modern Middle East'', Chapter 5 pg.84 of 4th edition the Press and Journalism Regulation Code, and the
Nationality Law Nationality law is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the legal manner in which a national identity is acquired and how it may be lost. In international law, the legal means to acquire nationality and for ...
of 1869 which created a common Ottoman citizenship irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation. Western-educated economists like Ahmet ReÅŸat Pasha advocated for
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
.


Young Ottomans

The
Young Ottomans The Young Ottomans (; ) were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the '' Tanzimat'' reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans soug ...
were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the
Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
reforms in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, which they believed did not go far enough, and wanted to end the autocracy in the empire. Young Ottomans sought to transform Ottoman society by preserving the empire and modernizing along the European tradition of adopting a constitutional government. Though the Young Ottomans were frequently in disagreement ideologically, they all agreed that the new constitutional government should continue to be somewhat rooted in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
to emphasize ''"the continuing and essential validity of Islam as the basis of Ottoman political culture."''Finkel 2006, p. 475. However, they combined Islamic idealism with modern liberalism and parliamentary democracy. The Young Ottomans believed European parliamentary liberalism was a model to follow, in accordance with the tenets of Islam and ''"attempted to reconcile Islamic concepts of government with the ideas of Montesquieu, Danton, Rousseau, and contemporary European Scholars and statesmen."'' Namık Kemal, who was influential in the formation of the society, admired the constitution of the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
. He summed up the Young Ottomans' political ideals as "the sovereignty of the nation, the separation of powers, the responsibility of officials, personal freedom, equality, freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of association, enjoyment of property, sanctity of the home".Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü (2008). ''A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire'', Princeton University Press. . p. 104. The Young Ottomans believed that one of the principal reasons for the decline of the empire was abandoning Islamic principles in favor of imitating European modernity with unadvised compromises to both and they sought to unite the two in a way that they believed would best serve the interests of the state and its people. They sought to revitalize the empire by incorporating certain Europeans models of government, while still retaining the Islamic foundations the empire was founded on.A History of the Modern Middle East. Cleveland and Buntin p.78 Among the prominent members of this society were writers and publicists such as
İbrahim Şinasi İbrahim Şinasi Efendi (; 5 August 1826 – 13 September 1871) was a pioneering Ottoman Empire, Ottoman intellectual, founder of Turkish dramaturgy, author, journalist, translator, playwright, linguist and newspaper editor. He was the innovato ...
, Namık Kemal, Ali Suavi,
Ziya Pasha Ziya Pasha, the pseudonym of Abdul Hamid Ziyaeddin (1829, Constantinople – 17 May 1880, Adana), was an Ottoman writer, translator and administrator. He was one of the most important authors during the Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire, alo ...
, and
Agah Efendi Çapanzade or Çapanoğlu Agah Efendi (March 31, 1832 – January 2, 1886) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish Civil service, civil servant, writer and newspaper editor who, along with his colleague İbrahim Şinasi, published ...
. In 1876, the Young Ottomans had their defining moment when Sultan Abdülhamid II reluctantly promulgated the Ottoman constitution of 1876 (), the first attempt at a constitution in the Ottoman Empire, ushering in the
First Constitutional Era The First Constitutional Era (; ) of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 (, , meaning ' Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law' in Ottoman Turkish), written by members ...
. Although this period was short lived, with Abdülhamid ultimately suspending the constitution and parliament in 1878 in favor of a return to absolute monarchy with himself in power,Finkel 2006, p. 489-490. the legacy and influence of the Young Ottomans continued to endure until the collapse of the empire. Several decades later, another group of reform-minded Ottomans, namely the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
, repeated the Young Ottomans' efforts, leading to the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
in 1908 and the beginning of the
Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...
.


Timeline

*1911: As a reaction to the CUP's autocratic tendencies, the liberal Freedom and Accord Party (''Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası'') was founded, only to be banned in 1913 *1918: Ali Fethi Okyar founded the Ottoman Liberal People's Party (''Osmanlı Hürriyetperver Avam Fırkası''), which was banned by the government in 1919. The Freedom and Accord Party would be reestablished, only to collapse by 1919 in the wake of Greece's occupation of Izmir. *1930: In an attempt to allow a legal opposition party,
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 â€“ 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
encouraged Okyar to found the Liberal Republican Party (''Serbest Cumhuriyet Fırkası''). The party attracted many dissidents the Kemalist regime. Under pressure from Atatürk, Okyar dissolved his own party, fearing that it was becoming a rallying ground for counter-reformists against the secular republic. *1956: A liberal faction of the Democratic Party founded the Liberty Party (''Hürriyet Partisi''). *1958: The party merged into the
Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
. *1961: A moderate faction of the former Democratic Party established after the ban the latter party founded the New Turkey Party (''Yeni Türkiye Partisi''). *1973: After initial success the party became unsuccessful and is dissolved. *1994: The Liberal Democratic Party was founded on July 26 as the Liberal Party by former Democratic Party members and Besim Tibuk, the first president.


See also

*
Secularism in Turkey In Turkey, secularism or laicism (see ''laïcité'') was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of Turk ...
* White Turks *
Politics of Turkey Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...
*
List of political parties in Turkey A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References

{{Liberalism in Europe Political movements in Turkey