CSP-SL000654 UNIVERSITY D'OTTAWA ~ ECOLE DES GRADUES HISTORICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF MODERN TURKISH NATIONALISM - A CONSTRUCTIVE FACTOR. IN WORLD POLITICS by Ali Ustun Thesis presented to the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Ottawa as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts« 5 % jBf C'cC ; fel J& BIBLIOTH'IQUFS ^Ottawa^Ottawa.. , LibKAKitb «• "^sitSitvy ot ° Ottawa, Canada, 1956 UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UMI Number: EC55930 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform EC55930 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE DES GRADUES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It gives me great pleasure indeed to thank, in a heartiest manner, Professor Witold Rodys, LL.D., who, with his most valuable advice, has directed most of my courses sa well as my thesis. It is a great pleasure for me to have had his guidance and it is also a great privilege for me to have known him both as a scholar and as a man. I should like to offer my deep gratitude and sin­ cere thanks to Reverend Father Jean M. Belanger, O.M.I., who, throughout my studies, has always helped and encour­ aged me with his valuable advice. I offer my heartiest gratitude and debt of con­ sciousness to these two scholars whom I shall always remember. It gives me great pleasure to offer my humble thanks to all those who, with their advice and encour­ agement have made this thesis possible. Here I would especially enjoy mentioning the names of the late Miss Eleanor Bisbee, Reverend Father Henri Legare, O.M.I., and Mr. Bulent Ozer. Thanks is expressed to the staff of the libraries of the University of Ottawa and of the Department of External Affairs of Canada who, with their kind cooperation, contributed in the completion of this work. UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA ~ SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA ~ ECOLE PES GRADUES TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page INTRODUCTION . v I.-NATIONALISM 1 1. Origin of Nationalism # 2. Nature of Nationalism 19 II.-PATRIARCHAL TURKISH SOCIETY 26 1. Turanian Unity 27 2<> Civilization . 29 3. Character 33 4. Life - Religion 35 5o Position of Women 37 6. Law 40 7. Ozans 43 III.-EVOLUTION UNDER ALIEN INFLUENCES 47 1. Synthetic Spirit 54 2. Art - Life - Culture 59 3. Character - Tolerance 61 4o State - Law 64 5. Fatalism 73 6. Literature 77 7„ Ozans 82 #„ Position of Women #5 9. Byzantine Influence 88 10. Namik Kemal 114 IV.-PAN MOVEMENTS 120 1. Young Turks 120 2. Union and Progress 126 3. Ottomanism 141 4. Pan-Islamism 149 5. Pan-Turanism 165 6. Pan-Turkism 174 7. Ziya Gokalp 188 V.-EVENTS LEADING TO THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND" THE REPUBLIC 210 1. Ataturk 219 2. War of Independence 238 UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE PES GRADUES TABLE OF CONTENTS iv Chapter page VI.-KEMALISM 253 1. Fatherland 260 2. Nation 260 3. Government 261 4. Political Rights 263 5. Republicanism 264 6. Secularism 269 (a) The Caliphate 277 (b) The Moslem Clergy 294 7. Nationalism 318 8. Patriotism 334 9. Revolutionism 341 (a) Legal Reforms 346 10. Populism 358 11. Etatism 360 CONCLUSION 372 BIBLIOGRAPHY 389 Appendix 1. TEXT OP THE Mustafa Kemal's Telegram (1) ... 394 2. TEXT OP THE Mustafa Kemal's Telegram (2) ... 396 3. TEXT OF THE Treaty of Moscow 397 4. TEST OP THE Turkish Constitution 398 UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE DES GRADUES INTRODUCTION nWe are convinced that there is no power on earth which can deprive a nation of its right to independence." K. Ataturk This thesis deals with the very essence of modern Turkish nationalism. Its historical, sociological and po­ litical aspects and implications will be examined. After a rather summary survey of European nationalism in general, as a social and political phenomenon, with its historical development up from its earliest stages, with all its diverse, sometimes even divergent aspects and trends, hu­ manitarian and defensive, aggressive, and integral, uni- versalist. We will try to examine the characteristic fea­ tures of modern Turkish nationalism, based on rational principles devoid of aggressiveness, humanitarian and con­ structive, aimed at creating strong foundations for the future development of a nation which under the guidance of a wise and farseeing leader, awakened from the long Otto­ man sleep to an entirely different present and future. To mark the true sense and historical significance of that UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE DES GRADUES INTRODUCTION vi fundamental transformation apparent and understandable, we must trace it back to the remote past of the Turkish nation, to the Turkish ancestral spirit of the pre-Ottoman era, to the patriarchal society. The fundamental charac­ teristics of Kemalism, as a socio-political movement, and its outgrowth, modern Turkish nationalism, have already been dealt with by historians and political scientists without, however, tracing them back to their historical and sociological antecedents and roots* That is why the phenomenon has not been appreciated correctly, with all its aspects and implications. To those authors, Kemalism seemed to be a rather purely rational concept, devoid of any links with the past, so to say rootless, artificially grafted into a new tree, a new political entity. To assess it properly, one must go back to the early stages of Turk­ ish history, and social development through the ages, to the evolution which took place during the Islamic Ottoman era, with its various pan movements: Ottomanism, Pan-Is- lamism, Pan-Turanism and Pan-Turkism. Kemalism, which takes part of its roots from Pan-Turkism, is merely the antithe­ sis and negation of Ottomanism and Pan-Islamism. The main idea of Ataturk, the very essence of Ke­ malism, the source of modern Turkish nationalism, besides UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE DES GRADUES INTRODUCTION vii the effort toward westernization, was a return to the Turk­ ish national heritage, to the patriarchal Turkish way of life, with its true Turkish national features, culture and tradition, by eliminating all the elements of alien origin, which became gradually superposed during the Ottoman era, and overshadowed or obscured the true core of Turkism, of the Turkish national heritage to an extent as to render it quite different, almost alien. Nationalism became one of the six pillars, six basic principles of Kemalism and of the new structure of the modern Turkish State. However, its true significance was much deeper: the whole structure of new Turkey, of her new moral, ethical, social and political life and entity, was to be revised and built upon the national heritage, upon truly national foundations, all that as a result of the awakened national consciousness, essentially Turkish, neither Islamic, Ottoman or Turanist. This was the sense and the significance of the Kemalist reforms, their very- nature, their ideological but at the same time realistic and sober foundations. The essentially constructive role and significance of modern Turkish nationalism, within the new Turkish State as well as outside, within the international society, UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA -- ECOLE DES GRADUES INTRODUCTION viii has to be studied against the background of the contempo­ rary nationalist trends prevailing in certain areas of the world. That comparative study will be necessary to ascertain the correct place and role of Kemalist Turkey in the world of to-day. Before proceeding on this essay about nationalism, a question, which could arise in any person's mind, should be answered. Could any person writing an article or essay on his own country, especially on a delicate matter such as his country's nationalism, be ever impartial? Although it would be hard for any person, in such circumstances to be definitely impartial, it would still be hard on the other hand for a foreigner to reflect the feelings and voice of an alien nation accurately and also in an impartial manner. It is not impossible, but it is extremely difficult to find such authors. A Turkish author once wrote that "if the foreigner knew, and the national citizen could be able to do, then a complete objective result could be achieved". Although this statement bears considerable truth, it could be added that a man is still a man and it is very likely that he might be unable to guard himself from certain negative influences. A foreigner could no less be impartial than a citizen of a nation. The foreigner influenced by UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA ~ SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA -- ECOLE DES GRADUES INTRODUCTION ix historical or certain other aspects could write books far from the truth. As said, individuals are usually defeated by their feelings, as usually certain feelings prevail upon rational thought. Thus if the moral faults or mistakes of a foreigner are deeper than those exaggerations of a citizen, it is preferred to have the essay from the latter one. Thus we will try to be as objective and rational as possible.