Suchergebnisse

The decay paradigm is part of the historiography of empires. Many scholars have also interpreted the demise of the Ottoman Empire in terms of decay. In contrast, the aim of this commentary is to offer a reconstruction of the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Turkish republic in terms of structural change and economic development. Thus, I argue that the Ottoman case would be better understood if viewed within the context of a more dynamic process of change versus inertia, rather than one of decay.

"Der Autor analysiert die Weltanschauung und intellektuellen Debatten, die hinter der politischen Programmatik der türkischen Regierung zwischen 1920 und 1940 standen. Im Mittelpunkt der Analyse stehen dabei die Versuche, den Willen zur Modernisierung in das Projekt eines türkischen Nationalstaats zu übersetzen. Trotz der Favorisierung völkischer Ideologie und undemokratischer Entscheidungsprozeduren, so der Verfasser, sei in diesen intellektuellen Debatten und politischen Praktiken die Grundlegung einer modernen Gesellschaft, einer der ersten in der Dritten Welt, vorangetrieben worden." (Autorenreferat)

The aim of the present study is to reconsider and reconstruct the economic history of the "decaying" Ottoman Empire during the Tanzimat period. Scores of scholars have already interpreted the decay in terms of imperial expansion. The decay paradigm is part of empire histories. Therefore, it is strongly imprinted with political discourse.Below, I will argue that the Ottoman case would be better understood if viewed within the context of a more dynamic process of change versus inertia rather than decay, and that such an approach to Ottoman economic and social history would be less tainted with political concerns.The ultra-nationalist approach to Ottoman economic history, has always blamed the 1838 Anglo-Ottoman Commercial Treaty for the "under-development" or "dependency" of the late Ottoman Empire. This scenario with a xenophobic hint and backed by Marxist as well as nationalist historiographies, finds the main scapegoat of modern Ottoman-Turkish economic history in the 1838 Treaty.