Domestic Policy (1923-1938)
Why did the reforms which began in the
Ottoman Empire in the 19th century fail to meet with the success achieved by
those in Japan?
The Empire was not homogenous: The
nationalist movements that began in the 19th century could not have been
prevented.
The nations of the West constantly fomented
troubles among the Ottoman minorities, with which they felt an affinity.
Russia wished to establish its presence on
the Mediterranean by protecting those of the Orthodox Faith, who constituted
the largest non-Muslim minority in the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain saw this
Russian policy as a threat to its own interests, and "protected" the
Ottomans until the end of the 19th century. This was, however, exploitative
protection. When the German Union was established in 1871, this new
imperialist force effected a rapprochement with the Ottomans.
Having been on the defensive in an endless
series of wars since the early 18th century, the Ottomans found themselves
with an economy in collapse. The capitulations had been used entirely as a
means of explorations.
Most important of all, the Turks had watched
passively as science and technology developed in Europe, and had failed to
reform their educational system.
The reforms of the 19th century had created a
polarity in the culture, for the old scholastic system of education continued
to exist side by side with the new schools, and there was a chasm between
those who emerged from the one and those who emerged from the other.
Despite legal reforms, the state continued to
be a theocratic one, thus limiting the effectiveness of what Westernizing
reforms were made.
In founding the Turkish Republic, the great
leader Atatürk was well aware of all this. In addition, he took inspiration
from the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution, with the
democratization that it brought.
All of the principles of Turkish reform were
established by Atatürk. This powerful leader put his principles into action
whenever the opportunity presented itself, and philosophized about them
afterwards. At the same time he strove to make them permanent. In a succinct
manner he described the aim of all the reforms: To achieve the level of
contemporary civilization, which of course meant Western civilization. But
Atatürk was a pragmatist, and knew that civilization was to be taken from any
and all sources, so long as it could be adapted to Turkish society.
At the heart of Atatürk's reforms were
rationalism, the use of intelligence, and the love of humankind.
The Political Side
At the very outset of the War of
Independence, a new state was founded that replaced an age-old Turkish
tradition, the sovereignty of one individual, with the sovereignty of the
nation (April 23,1920), and this for the first time in Asia.
With victory won, the sultanate was abolished
forever (November 4, 1922) and a Republic proclaimed (October 29, 1923), so
that there was no longer any need for the Caliphate, which was at odds with
the fundamental philosophy of the new state, and was abolished by the National
Assembly on March 3, 1924. A new organization responsible to the Prime
ministry was established to deal exclusively with matters of Muslim worship.
Thus the theocratic nature of the government was reduced almost to nil, and a
secular state launched.
In 1924 a modern new Constitution was adopted
, with the aim of creating the conditions necessary for democracy.
In 1928 an amended Constitution removed the
last vestiges of government involvement in religion, thus making the Republic
thoroughly secular.
In 1934 another amendment to the Constitution
gave women the right to vote for deputies to the National Assembly, and to run
for office. In this matter Turkey was in advance of many European nations.
Further change in 1937 put into the
Constitution six of the fundamental principles of Turkish reform:
Republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism,
secularism and reformism. These principles are still part of the Constitution
today.
Republicanism
As for Republicanism, with this principle
Turkish reforms find concrete backing in the structural nature of the state.
Turkey is a state, governed by democratic principles and democracy itself is
basically political, intellectual and egalitarian.
Nationalism
The main objective of the Kemalist revolution
was to create an independent national state whose basis was the national
resistance spirit. The last stage reached today in the development of
societies is the nation. Through Nationalism, Atatürk gave his own people a
national identity and the Turkish Nation reached the final victory by
orientation to the national objectives and common interests. The nation is not
a race, but a togetherness of spirits and a moral medium moulded by history.
The spirit of nationality, or simply nationalism, appears as a deep-rooted
psychological affinity to and respect for the national history and successes
and miseries in the past. This spirit does not solely consist of an
appreciation of the past and of the things which occurred in the past. There
is another factor of nationalism: the aims, hopes and expectations directed to
the future.
Populism
The principle of Populism symbolizes the
contemporary concept of democracy, and the rational nationalism that can
develop and flourish only in free and democratic countries. Populism is a
cornerstone of the state and is a form of the consciousness of national
sovereignty. The nation shall be governed by persons elected by the people.
Their duty is to defend the country's independence both at domestic and
international levels. Parallel to the essence of this principle it has been
guaranteed, in the Turkish laws that each Turkish citizen possesses equal
rights regardless of race, sex, creed etc. and the state treats them equally.
Statism
Statism was admitted into the political life
of Turkey in 1936 as one of the basic characteristics of the Turkish State by
a constitutional amendment. The statism adopted by Turkey, retains individual
initiative as the basic factor while it commits the state particularly in the
field of economics in order to raise the country to a high level of welfare
taking into account the general and high interests of the nation. According to
Atatürk, the moderate statism that he had devised is the system best suited
to the country's requirements. He has made the following priority listing for
the duties and responsibilities of the state:
- to act in leading Turkey toward
industrialization and the contemporary level of civilization;
- to establish and maintain public order in
the country and to preserve individual freedoms;
- to provide the means of political freedom
and well-being of individuals;
- to maintain good relations with foreign
powers in order to safeguard and guarantee the country's future.
Secularism
Secularism, a corollary of democracy,
characterizes best Atatürk's modern society and the young Turkish Republic.
This principle provides for the administration of the state by contemporary
laws based on scientific facts as well as for freedom of thought distinct from
the pressure of any type of dogma.
Reformism
The principle of Reformism is instrumental in
following up developments and advances in the world of science. Through
reformism, Turkey can reach the level of contemporary civilization.
These six basic principles constitute the
roots of the Republic of Turkey.
How, then, did democratic movements come
about in the framework of these reforms? Atatürk was passionate about liberty
and democracy. "All rights," he said in 1931, "are based on the
individual... In a democracy neither the state nor any other party may
interfere with the freedoms of the individual." "Democracy means
love of the country."
Following the foundation of the Republic,
Atatürk wished to institute democracy in all its principles and
manifestations, and said, "We Turks are at heart democratic."
Despite the evident respect and even longing
for democracy inherent in these words, until 1945 Turkey did not have a
multi-party system, even though there was nothing in the Constitution or in
law to prevent the founding of political parties. The leader of the nation
also was eager on this point. One may cite two instances of an approach to a
multi-party system prior to 1945. One was in 1924, when a number of Atatürk's
comrades in arms opposed him for personal and ideological reasons, and founded
a new party. This was tolerated even though the regime had as yet scarcely
been established.
The Depression of 1930 affected Turkey as
well as other countries, and Atatürk was of the opinion that the government
should be controlled, new ideas presented. For this, a multi-party system was
needed. At that time the renowned statesman Fethi (Okyar) Bey, a close friend
of Atatürk's, was the Ambassador to France. He declared his intention,
probably with the encouragement of Atatürk, to found a new party. Atatürk's
response was positive. As long as it did not violate the principle of
secularism, new parties would be welcome. Thus in 1930 Fethi Bey established
the Republic's third political party. Unfortunately a certain number of
conservatives who were disturbed by Atatürk's reforms used this party for
their own purposes. The party lost its democratic basis, and eventually
dissolved itself.
Legal Reforms
Canonical law was the essence of the Ottoman
legal system, although a combination of custom and jurisprudence also existed
that gave the sultan a certain freedom of action. In point of fact, Islamic
law was progressive for its age, and with the exception of certain matters was
even modern. But through the ages, while secular law was being developed in
the West, Ottoman law, as in so many other areas, remained rigidly fixed.
In 1839 the famous Tanzimat reform movement
brought legal changes as well as others, as certain European laws not in
direct contradiction with the Islamic code were adopted. Nevertheless the
legal system still left much to be desired.
The Republican government put an end to the
confusion in this sphere. Above all; there was now a national state, so that
the conditions existed for legal reform.
The essence of this reform was that men and
women be completely equal before the law. There had to be a civil code which
would resolve this and other problems, and after long debate the most recent,
advanced code in Europe was settled on in 1926, the civil code of Switzerland.
According to this,
- Men and women were equal,
- Women were free to choose any profession,
- Marriage was to be with a single spouse,
- Divorce would involve equal conditions for
the man and woman,
- Men's and women's shares in heritance were
to be equal.
After these changes, others were made in
other areas. For example, under the old system two female witnesses were
required, but only one male witness. Laws concerning commerce and business
were revised, as were articles of the penal code. In all these areas there was
reform.
Education
Reforms in education were particularly
important if changes in other areas were to be properly grasped, and to be
lasting. The fundamental reforms enacted by the government of the Republic
were as follows:
- All education based on religion was
abolished, and all schools placed under state direction.
- Serious steps were taken to make primary
school education mandatory.
The biggest single step was the adoption of
the Roman alphabet. Arabic script, completely incompatible with Turkish, had
been a major cause of sterility in philosophy and letters, and in 1928 it was
replaced by an essentially Roman alphabet in the short space of only six
months. Suddenly the reading and writing of Turkish became far easier to
learn, and tens of thousands of adults were taught literacy in the special
schools set up for this purpose. This single reform did much to make the
culture of the West accessible to the Turkish nation.
It was only natural that all of this should
have an impact on the life of science, scholarship and thought. Among the
Ottomans there were many madrashahs, where Islamic thought was the subject of
study, and only in 1900 was the first university opened in Istanbul. True
universities were needed if science and letters were to progress, and in 1933
Atatürk refounded the University of Istanbul. This is an important date for
higher education in Turkey, for at this time Turkey opened its arms to Jewish
and other scholars and scientists fleeing, or being run out of, Hitler's
Germany. In Turkey they found safety and civilized surroundings, and they were
the true founders of Turkish universities, which today number thirty.
The modernizing reforms together make up a
whole. Having turned its face to the West, the nation brought about a great
change through individual steps, each of which may seem like a detail, but
taken together amount to a great achievement. Those we may cite are the
following:
- Clothing was secularized. Henceforward
divines were to dress like any other citizen, except when leading worship. An
exception was the highest placed divine in each religion.
- The fez, which in point of fact has no
place either among the Turks or in Islam, had in a short time become a symbol
of religion. Now it was abolished.
- The internationally accepted calendar was
adopted, as were European units of time, weight and length. Numerals also took
their western forms.
In all these reforms, the goal was to create
a modern, advanced society.
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