JACOB M. LANDAU
SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON PANTURKIST IDEOLOGY
Panturkism, although one of the most important and interesting ideologies prevalent among Near and Middle Eastern peoples, has never (to the best of my knowledge) been considered as a whole. Certain aspects, particularly its early history, have been examined in several useful monographs. Nevertheless, much of the litera ture on Panturkism has been tendentious and indeed more source material than definitive studies. Evaluation of the character and relevance ·of Panturkism should consider this ideology as a whole, over a period of about one hundred years, against the background of histarical events. The following is a brief attempt at periodizing and categorizing Panturkism, with several preliminary conclusions drawn. One may distinguish, essentially, among four periods in the de velopment of Panturkism. Although it is always very difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine precise dates for each period, we may do so, grosso modo, in this case, as each period maintains its own distinguishing features in the evaluation of Panturkist ideology and activity among Turkish peoples both within and without the Ottoman Empire or the Republic of Turkey. The first of these periods hegan about r865, when the first Pan turkist ideas began to be expressed, ending early in the twentieth century, just before the Young Turk revolution. The main prota gonists of Panturkism during those years were intellectuals from among the Turkish groups in Czarist Russia, who usually distributed their ideas in print, often clandestinely, in southern Russia and Central Asia, then in the Ottoman Empire itself, semi-clandestinely, fearing Abdul-Hamid's spies and the censorship he had imposed. In Turkey itself, they succeeded in inducing certain literary figures to support their ideology, although, on the whole, it was the Turkic SECONDA SESSIONE intellectuals from Russia who remained the principal formulators and propagators of Panturkist ideology. The first period was crucial, indeed, for the formulation of Pan turkist ideology, while the following ones witnessed i ts a pplication rather than any significant change in its essential concepts. This was an era of Sturnı und Drang for Panturkism, a time of great dreams, of illusions and disillusionment. Considering the political situation during those days, it was natural that ideologies emphasize prin1arily cultural aspects. Isınail Gasparinsky, the first notable Tatar to preach Panturkism, wa s an educated person, whose intelleetual for mation had matured in Moscow, Paris and Istanbul (other prota gonists were also generally well-educated). For him, Panturkism meant <
8 II8 SECONDA SESS!ONE version of irredentism had eventually infiltrated into the Young Turk leadership which was governing the Ottoman Empire and had been adopted as its official policy (after disappointments, during the 19II war with Italy and the Balkan Wars, when non-Turkish groups in the Ottoman Empire displayed hostility), was quite evident from the Turco-German Treaty of 2 August 1914, which was the basis for a comradeship-in-arms during the First World War. Paragraph 5 declared << Deutschland verpflichtet sich, der Türkei eine Berichti gung an ihrer Ostgrenze zu erwirken, die es ihr gestatten wird, mit den muslimisehen Elementen in Russland u.11mittelbar Fühlung auf zunehmen >>. Obviously, the Ottoman Empire could hope to annex parts of Czarist Russia populated by Muslims, chiefiy Turkic, groups, solely by joining Germany and Austria-'Hungary against the En tente, of which Russia was a member. This, amongst other consi derations, was one of the decisive factors behind the Ottoman Em pire's joining Germany and its allies in the First World War. This attitude was repeated in diplamatic commu..'lications between the Ottoman Empire and Germany during the War and was also pro bably behind the tragic banishment of Armenians living in the areas separating Anatolia from the Turkic groups in Russia. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why other minorities, such as Greeks and Jews, were left alone. This approach also explains separatist actions taken by Turkic groups in Russia after its capitulation in 1917, with the intention of union of tliese groups, as well as the de cision to despatch many Ottoman troops to Russian areas popula ted by Turkic groups during the last years of the War, at a time when these troops were desperately needed in Syria and on other fronts. The attempt by Enver, one of the trio of leaders ruling the Ottoman Empire, to continue the struggle for Panturkism in Cen tral Asia, constitutes a suitable conclusion for this phase of intense Panturkist activity. The third period began with the establishment of Soviet rule in Central Asia and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, con tinuing until after the conclusion of the Second World War. In these areas of the Soviet Union inhabited by Turkic groups, it was characterised by the returu of Panturkist activity to the underground, although not unbeknownst to Soviet authorities, who have exerted systematic efforts at counteracting Panturkism through communist propaganda, bureaucratic controls, cultural penetration and the re zoning of territories inhabited by these groups. The co-operation of JACOB M. LANDAU rrg some Tatars with Nazi German forces during the Second World War was the peak of Panturkist activity in the Soviet Union (for the Germans had then skillfully exploited Panturkist propaganda). The 1944 deportation of the Tatars by the Soviet authorities marked the end of any meaningful Panturkist activity in the Soviet Union. However, this was a most extreme case. Otherwise, during the pe riod between the two World Wars, most Turkic groups in Ce.ntral Asia despaired of outright political activity, both because of strong handed Soviet rule and because their only potential ally, the Repu blic of Turkey, discouraged Panturkism. Consequently, Panturkist activity in Central Asia reverted to literary activity, mostly histo rical works and literary stories about the ancient Turks and their achievements. The few items of a political nature published by Turkic intellectuals were issued in \Vestern Europe only, generally in Turkish, German, French, English, or Polish. In Turkey itself, during this period, the Kemalists had set up a republic (in 1923). Popnlar enthusiasm for the Panturkist ideology waned visibly there. A notable example is provided by the well known Turkish female writer and journalist, Halide Edib, in an article entitled << Le Us Set Our Own House in Order! >>. This was all the more remarkable as her 19ıo novel, Yeni Turan (' The new Turan'; also translated into German in 1916 as Die neue Turan), had inspired the Panturkists. Now, at the War's end, Halide Edib pointedly stated that only adventurers would wish to help the ligh ting that still went on in the Caucasus and Turkestan. This refiected an obvious disillusionment with Panturkism and the desire to attend to Turkey's own problems, numerous and difficult at they were then. Mustafa Kemal himseli adopted this attitude; Panturkism was dis couraged, even frowned upon as liable to endanger Turkey's rela tions with the Soviet Union. Instead, Turkey's new nationali<>m was formulated in unequivocal terms as focussing on Turkey itself, within its new frontiers, with an efforts at modernisation and Wester nisation, simultaneously renouncing irredentist sentiments. As these were Mustafa Kemal's views, they became official state policy bet ween the two Wars, extending even after Mustafa Kemal's death in 1938. During the Second World War, the Government of Turkey resisted German inducements regarding Southern Russia and Soviet Centcal Asia. All this does not mean that Panturkism disappeared in Turkey; rather; it kept a low profile. The Türk Ocağı continued to exist for !20 SECONDA SESSIONE
a time, but activity slowed down and they were eventuaily converted to clubs, the 'People's homes ', serving Kemalist socialisation of Turkey. Several periodicals supporting Panturkism appeared irre gularly, mostly in the early rg4o's where there was a resurgence of Panturkist sentiınent as a result of the Second World War. Among these were Bozkurt ('Grey Wolf', symbol of the ancient Turks), Çinaraltı (' Under the Plane-Three ') and Tanridağ (a name for the Thien-Shan mountain range, home of the ancient Turks). These jour nals were cautious about what they published and propagated their views by ciı:cumspectly adding a Panturkist dimension to their in terpretation of nationalİst ideology in Republican Turkey. In so doing, they followed closely the teachings of Ziya Gökalp, already mentioned as one of the most infiuential thinkers of the Panturkist ideology. In his Türçülüğün esaslari (' Principles of Turkism '), pu blished in 1923, the year before his death, that is at the beginning of what we have considered the 'third period', Gökalp wrote as follows: < Turks ', as people of Turkic descent living outside Turkey were cal led in Panturkist circles. Other books and periodicals were less scho larly, although no less enthusiastic. Common to all of them was ardent patriotism, or milliyetçilik, a major component of which was Türkçülük, or Panturkism. Indeed, in the years following the end of the Second World War, Panturkist ideology in Turkey assumed the characteristics which mark it taday. It became more racist, possibly due to the impact of Nazi propaganda during the War, considering once again a union of all peoples of Central Asian stock, from the Mongols to the Finns and Hungarians (Turanism). However, emphasis remained on a Panturkist visian of a Büyük Türkiye (or 'Great Turkey'), uniting all groups of Turkic origin to the mather country. This fourth stage witnessed a visible broadening of scope. While the main objects of Panturkist propaganda in Turkey had formerly been the Turkic groups in Czarist Russia or, later, in the Soviet Union, the visian was enlarged during post-World War Two years to include all Turkic groups everywhere, that is, in the Soviet Union, China, Iran, Iraq, Greece, Cyprus, Roumania and Bulgaria - along with the territories in which they lived. Since in all these states, with the exception of Iran and Iraq, the Turkic. minorities lived under regimes unpalatable to the majority of Turkish public opinion, Panturkist propaganda became identified with both anti communist and anti-Greek propaganda, seeking popularity by cla mouring against the grievances, real or imaginary, of the Turkic minorities in the above countries. Panturkist ideology became more open and increasingly militant after the military intervention of rg6o-rg6r in Turkey and the en suing liberalisation in political activity and lifting of censorship on publishing. As leftist groups, same of them radical, alsa took ad vantage of this liberalisation, Panturkist groups reacted by daiming to be the only true patriots, defending Turkey against communism both externally and internally. Thus, Panturkist ideology reached the peak of its politicisation, bidding to become a meaningful force in the domestic politics of Turkey. In rg65, a number of politicians, led by a group of retired military officers headed by Alparslan Türkeş, took over a conserva tive party, called the Republican Peasants and Nation Party, which, in rg6g, they renamed - significantly - the Nationalİst Action Party (or the Nationalİst Mavement Party) in Turkish Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi. As this party derived a great deal of its support !22 SECONDA SESSIONE from Panturkist groups throughout Turkey, it invested considera ble efforts in familiarising the Turks with its aims - of which Pan turkism was a major one -in its speeches, journals and other pu blications. Of the works published by the party, Türkeş's Dokuz işik (' Nine lights ') has been the most important to date. First published in rg65 and reprinted several times since, it has been the vade mecu.m of all party members and sympathisers. In this and other works, Türkeş defined and explained patriotism in decidedly Panturkist terms, the gist of which was that a union of all ' Outer Turks' with Turkey would assist the former and transform the latter into a powerful, roo-million people state. The party has followed the rules-of-the-game of Turkish politics; it ran in parliamentary elections and has had its own Members of Parliament since rg65. In the I977 elections, it obtained r6 seats in the 450-Member Na tional Assembly and became a partner in Cabinet Coalitions between I975 and I977· Panturkism had, at last, come out of the political wilderness, becoming a legitimate partner in interparty competition in Turkey. An analysis of the evolution of Panturkist ideology in the four period framework which we have sugge<>ted allows us to reach several tentative conclusions. First, although the ' Outer Turks ' were the main protagonists of Panturkism during the fi.rst period, .while those in Turkey were relatively quiescent, it has been the Turks of Turkey who have worked for Panturkism, virtually single-handedly, during the fourth period. Second, development has generally been from cultural to political activity. Third, evolution has not followed a straight line, but has varied; cultural activity was restored during low-ebb times, when political activity - still the ultimate goal - was forbidden. Fourth, Panturkist ideology is now an important force in Turkish politics, to be reckoned with as a battle cry for -those seeking patriotism with wide appeal.