Preview

Turkish Reform Under Mustafa “Ataturk” Kemal: a Review on the Six Arrows of Kemalism

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3001 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Turkish Reform Under Mustafa “Ataturk” Kemal: a Review on the Six Arrows of Kemalism
Turkish Reform Under Mustafa “Ataturk” Kemal: A Review on the Six Arrows of Kemalism In the aftermath of World War I, the once great Ottoman Empire was left in shambles. After having lost almost all of the empire’s territory to European mandates in 1918, what little they had left became occupied by Allied troops. In order to return the Turkish people to their former glory, the Turkish War for Independence was fought, resulting in the creation of a new government in Ankara. By 1923, this government declared the end of the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed the name of the Turkish Republic. At the forefront of this new nation’s birth was Mustafa Kemal, a man who would come to be known as Ataturk, or “Father Turk” for his contributions to the establishment and reforms of this young state. But what exactly did this Ataturk do for the Republic of Turkey? In order to understand how much an influence Kemalist ideology had on the early days of the Turkish Republic, one must define the six basic principles behind it, known as the Six Arrows, learn how they were implemented in the early republic, and analyze the motives behind Kemal’s specific reforms. After doing thusly, one will discover that, had it not been for the influence of Kemalism, Turkey would never have existed in its modern form. The first of the Six Arrows is Republicanism. Republicanism can be defined as a form of government in which the people rule indirectly. Unlike the former Ottoman Empire, in which the primary ruler was the sultan who inherited his position through his genealogy, the Turkish Republic was conceived as a nation through which representatives from among the people would make decisions (86-88). In order to see this idea of Republicanism come to fruition, the long standing sultanate had to be dissolved. Though Kemal intended for this to be a reality since the early days of the War for Independence, he kept this agenda a secret from the populace in order to keep morale and war support


Cited: Akşin, Sina. Turkey: From Empire to Revolutionary Republic. Washington Square, NY: New York UP, 2007. Davison, Andrew. Secularism and Revivalism in Turkey: A Hermeneutic Reconsideration. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998. Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü. Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2011. Mango, Andrew. Atatürk. Woodstock, NY: Overlook, 2002. Parla, Taha, and Andrew Davison. Corporatist Ideology in Kemalist Turkey: Progress or Order? Syracuse, NY: Syracuse UP, 2004. Reisman, Arnold. Turkey 's Modernization: Refugees from Nazism and Atatürk 's Vision. Washington, DC: New Academia Publ., LLC, 2006. Volkan, Vamik D., and Norman Itzkowitz. The Immortal Atatürk: A Psychobiography. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1986.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    ap world history ch 19&20 studyguide
    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    ap world history ch 19&20 studyguide

    13. What groups were formed as a result of the Ottoman Empire’s reforms and what did each group advocate?…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap World History Chapter 26 Notes
    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ap World History Chapter 26 Notes

    * Coup 1908: Ottoman Society for Union and Progress (Young Turks) fought for return to 1976 constitution, Sultan remained as figurehead.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Roxanne Varzi's Warring Souls
    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Roxanne Varzi's Warring Souls

    In chapter eight of Warring Souls, Roxanne Varzi examines the Islamic Republic of Iran, and suggests that the dominating identity of Iran is evolving from a religious national one, into an Iranian national identity. This leads me the possibility that the monolithic Islamic identity of Iran may not have to power to last. Personally, I agree with Varzi’s stance on this shift in the Iranian government’s focus, and I think her argument is strengthened by her discoveries about the Iranian youth. She proposes the narrative that Islamic democracy only works as an idea, when it is able to equally incorporate secular and Islamic identities. By incorporating the viewpoints of the Iranian youth, she reinforces the ideas that religion and politics should…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Mustafa Kemal's Impact On Modern Turkey
    • 1722 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Mustafa Kemal's Impact On Modern Turkey

    Mustafa Kemal’s impact on the modern Turkish state is irrefutable, so much so that he was given the name Atatürk by the national assembly, meaning “father of the Turks”, banning anyone else from using this name. Turkey, one of the few culturally Islamic nations without a Sharia legal system , is often referred to as one of the most modernized states with a Muslim majority . Atatürk is often attributed with the modernization of Turkey, through, amongst other things, social, political and economic reform. Kemalism, the founding ideology of the republic of Turkey, was a series of extensive programs of reform aimed at modernizing Turkey through six pillars, referred to as the six arrows of Kemalism, namely nationalism, republicanism, secularism,…

    • 1722 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Drug Trade of Brazil
    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Drug Trade of Brazil

    Course Outline: This course examines the major political, economic and social processes that have shaped the modern Middle East (the Arab East, plus Iran, Israel, Turkey). Major themes to be discussed include: the patterns of 19th century constitutional reforms and the legacy of Ottoman rule; the structures of European imperialism; the processes of nation-building; the struggles for political and economic independence; the continued interventions of foreign powers; the regional ramifications of the century-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict; the impact of the 1990-91 Gulf War; and the tumultuous events of last year.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Westernization Affect The Middle East
    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Did Westernization Affect The Middle East

    The European powers were motivated by their own strategic defence and economic needs. In consolidating their dominance over the necessary resources and assets they unwittingly sparked the forces of nationalism. These nationalist forces, however, tended to have their roots in western liberal ideals of sovereignty and equality as seen in the cases of Turkey, Iran and Egypt. This sparked backlash from Islamist elements of society against these western ideals as seen in Iran. Therefore, the process of societal change kickstarted by the Ottoman Empire in response to Europe was further accelerated by the European powers themselves and expanded upon in both the political and social realms. A legacy of upheaval and struggle have been left in their wake, allowing for the emergence of the many modern Middle Eastern…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis: Recognising Iran
    • 232 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis: Recognising Iran

    Conference series titled as “Recognising Iran”, helded by Center for Iranian Studies (IRAM) October series guest was Selahaddin Eş, columnist of for Star newspaper. Selahaddin Eş, who lived many years in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, comperatively evaluated with simultaneous issues in the region, (Iran’s sociocultural traits, constitutionalism-legitimacy discussion in historical process, source of ulama’s power) in his speech titled as “A Turkish Author’s Impressions on Iranian and Islamic Revolution”…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World History Notes
    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages

    World History Notes

    4. In the view of the Ottomans, the sultan supplied justice and defense for the common people (the raya),…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Armenian Genocide Research Paper
    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Armenian Genocide Research Paper

    The Ottoman rulers, like most of their subjects, were Muslim. Christians had to pay higher taxes than Muslims, for example, and they had very few political and legal rights. In spite of these obstacles, the Armenian community thrived under Ottoman rule. They tended to be better educated and wealthier than their Turkish neighbors. In 1908, a new government came to power in Turkey. A group of reformers who called themselves the “Young Turks” overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid and established a more modern constitutional government. At first, the Armenians were hopeful that they would have an equal place in this new state, but they soon learned that what the nationalistic Young Turks wanted most of all was to “Turkify” the empire. According to this way of thinking, non-Turks–and especially Christian non-Turks–were a grave threat to the new…

    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Armenian Genocide In The Nineteenth Century
    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Armenian Genocide In The Nineteenth Century

    The empire began to disintegrate as the Ottomans lost battle after battle, and the Serbs, Romanians, and Greeks gained their independence. The Arabs in the Middle East and Armenians were all that remained in the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid. Since the empire was in decline, young Armenian people gradually began to demand political reforms, a constitutional government, and an end to discriminatory taxes directed at Armenians because of their Christian beliefs. The Sultan ignored their pleas and the young Armenians were persecuted. Years later, an organization called the Young Turks eventually altered the future of the Armenian people because of their vicious acts against them in the form of a genocide.…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Write An Essay On The Armenian Genocide
    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Write An Essay On The Armenian Genocide

    The “Turkish Movement” consisted of the people who were angry about getting charged for the genocide of the Armenians. A campaign of the military went against Russian Armenia and refugee Americans. They succeeded the eradication of the Armenians.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reform Movements: Part B
    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reform Movements: Part B

    Gender inequality and slavery were the two biggest evils that reformers tried eliminating in the time period. The abolition of slavery had many reformers behind it. Two very important men trying to achieve this were Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, a white man, going to show there was support from all types of people. Two of the women’s rights advocates were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sarah Grimke. They both achieved great things to help out their cause. Although slavery and gender equality are arguably the most important evils in the time period there were still many other. One of these was alcohol. During the time period the Temperance Movement grew and advocates like Lyman Beecher and Father Mathew gained many supporters. The poor quality of education was also addressed by many reformers of the time. Some reformers though, had more specific ideas. For example Dr. Graham wanted to eliminate impure foods from people’s diets and Ralph Emerson wanted to rid society of organized institutions which were leading to corruption.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Orhan Pamuk Analysis
    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Orhan Pamuk Analysis

    Present-day literary contents have become sites where the conflict for power and meaning prevail. The conflict between Islam and secularism in present-day Turkey forms the background for Pamuk’s writings. As a writer who addresses the overall audience Pamuk has entrenched himself as a considerable voice of authority representing this struggle. Pamuk brightly documents the hesitation of present-day Turkey as it is hovered between the old Ottoman Islamic cultural tradition and a twentieth century state driven Westernization. The Islam-secularism conflict is not an exclusive Turkish condition alone but has larger significance involving global, geopolitical consequence. Among these political concerns the author also brings in the question of art and explores it to the fullest by using personal symbols and…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Speech Ataturk
    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Speech Ataturk

    The Turkish Youth, is the owner and the guardian of, revolutions and the republic. It has believed its rights and its need more than anyone. It has absorbed the way of governing and the revolutions. Once it’s aware of any movement or action, small or big which will make these weak, it’s not going to say “ This country has police, gendarme and an army”. With its hands, sticks and weapons, it’s going to protect what it made. The police are going to come, it’s going to leave the actual criminals and arrest the youth. The youth is going to think “ The police are not yet the police of the republic and the revolution” but never going to beg. The court is going to judge him. He’s going to think again “ so the justice organisation must be corrected and adjusted according to the way of governing”…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Immigration Problem in Istanbul
    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Immigration Problem in Istanbul

    Istanbul is the most urbanized and crowded city of Turkey. For almost 20 years, it takes internal migration with its economic and social opportunities; therefore, the city, which becomes one of the urbanized cities around the world, grows in an uncontrolled manner day by day. The population of Istanbul, which was not even 1 million in 1950, is now over 14 million. After a rapid industrialization, a high level of immigration is normal and unavoidable for cities and it has some advantages as providing labor force but the migration to Istanbul get over the limits. According to Istanbul Governorship’s data, over 62% of people who live in Istanbul were born outside of the city. Since it is common that Turkish families are crowded, most of immigrant families have more than two children generally. This year, the prime minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdoğan advised the community to make at least three children in order to protect the nation’s young population, at the time of his speech about International Women’s day. The elite class of Turkey may not affected by these events but the rural side of Turkey, and the lower class of the cities, mostly immigrants are influenced by the people whom they see as their idol. According to the high fertility factor, the native Istanbul population has become a minority in their homeland (Erman 541). It causes many identity problems beside its…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics