Essay Example on the History of Turkey: A Multi-Cultural, Multi-Regional State

Introduction

The History of Turkey is diverse; it borrows mainly from elements of West Asia, Central Asia, Eastern part of Europe, and a few Caucasian traditions. All these unique cultures and traditions that form the history of Turkey were joined together by the Ottoman Empire. Under the leadership of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey became a multi-ethnic and a multi-regional state. Since then, Turkey has remained a state that incorporates more than one culture with a diverse history. To develop to a republic and become an independent nation, the republican Parliament of 1922 had to overthrow the then leader of the Ottoman empire. Sultan Mehmet 6 of the Vahdettin was defeated by the Republican Parliament to give rise to the Republic of Turkey in the year 1922 (Shaw and Ezel 442). The new regime of Turkey republic leadership headed by Mustafa Kemal was elected the first president. A lot of changes happened during the period. The Ottoman dynasty was expelled from Turkey. Other changes that occurred during the same period include the abolishment of the Caliphate and the adoption of a full republican constitution. The foundation and the formation of the Turkish republic influenced a lot of events in the 19th century. 1923 became a default meeting point between the Ottoman Empire and the current history. In this four-page analysis, the focus is to identify how the Turkish state and its foundation influenced a lot of happenings during the 19th century. Below is an analysis of the Turkey Republic's influence on the current history and that of the 19th century.

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How Turkish State formation influenced History in the 19th Century and Effects on Modern Turkey History

Religion

Firstly, the adoption of the republican constitution religiously ensured that Islam was retained as the state's religion. The retention of Islam as the main religion seemed like the nation had failed to recognize the need to protect the three major non-Muslim communities within the state. The groups consisted of Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. The Lausanne framework identified the same groups as the country's minority populations. The smaller churches of the Eastern part, including Assyrians, felt neglected by the republican constitution. The pressure continued to pile; Republicans decided to change the religious clause of the constitution. In 1928 April, the assembly removed the religious clause following the public outcry. Turkey officially became a purely secular republic. As analyzed in the above paragraph, religion in Turkey was one of the most affected aspects of the Republic of Turkey's formation. Since the 19th century, Turkey has remained a secular republic (Shaw and Ezel 445). However, the population is dominated by Muslims. 90% of the overall population of Turkey is Muslim. The fact that society is Muslim dominated, but it is considered a secular republic, it is proof that the 19th-century foundation influenced a lot of Turkey's current history.

Political Governance

Another crucial part of Turkey's history influenced by the happening of the 19th century is the existence of political governance in Turkey. The main instrument of leadership in Turkey's management was the assembly. It is through the assembly that Mustafa Kamal's will, as the leader of the nation, used to implement policies. The Republican People's Party dominated the assembly. The Republican People's Party was dominated by the heavy preponderance of urban professional men. Most of the people in the assembly were officials with university education. The outlook of the assembly did not have any Turkish peasants. The revolution by the government was carried out from the top. Government policies were implemented from the top. The revolution party, however, did not operate without opposition. The first factions which contained the conservatives, a few merchants and the committee for union progress offered the government opposition (Shaw and Ezel 442). There is reason to believe that Mustafa Kamal took care to keep his opponents out of the assembly. The Republican Party dominated the 19th century. The same trend has informed party politics till modern history, where the two parties that dominate the assembly of Turkey are the Congress Party and the Republican Party. Following the long term assembly domination of the Republican party, the Congress party and its sympathizers decided to organize a government coup after the death of Mustafa Kemal in 1938. However, the republican remained dominant in the assembly until the 1950s. The Turkish government's assembly has dominated a lot of power-making decisions and policies since Turkey became an independent republic. Apart from adopting the Republican constitution, the assembly is acknowledged in making decisions regarding religion, the emigration of Islam in Turkey, foreign relationships with other European nations, and, most important, the regulation of the nation's armed forces. As explained in the above paragraph, the 19th-century government was dominated by the assembly. It affected government history then through establishing dominance flor the Republican Party. The assembly's dominance to modern history is visible through realizing that policies are still changed from the assembly through bills and laws. The current Turkish assembly, just like the previous, is still dominated by urban professional men, and very few Turkish peasants represent their own in the current Turkish assembly. The explanation above is proof of how the 19th-century foundation influenced early and modern Turkish history.

Economy

Another essential aspect of Modern Turkey influenced by the foundation of the 19th century is the Turkish economy. Between the years 1950 and 1960, The Turkish government was under the Democrats. The Democrats governed through the president and the prime minister. Later as modern history continued, the position of the Prime Minister became powerful than the president. The domination of the Prime minister over the president's post is one of how the 19th-century democratic politics influenced the modern leadership history of the Turkish government. Apart from the introduction of the leadership of a Prime Minister, the Democrats were committed to the program economic growth of Turkey. During the 1950s, there existed a shortage of foreign exchange. The mentioned shortage of foreign exchange handicapped the exporting industry. There was a favorable rise in the economy in the early 1950s, but the foreign exchange limitation worsened the situation. Inflation averaged to 15% annually and became a severe problem (Shaw and Ezel 445). Through the legislation, the Democratic government tried to pass laws that would control prices, but it did not work. At the end of the Democratic regime, the economy had worsened, with local expenditure worsening inflation rates. The fall of new investment continued, accompanied by severe housing problems and unemployment. The population was also growing at a rate of 10% per annum.

The analyzed economic inflation explains the genesis of Turkey's involvement in foreign exchange and European Trade partnerships to stabilize the economy. Trade relationships have been established with France, UK, and other nations that have been willing to create trade partnerships with Turkey. Following the drop in the economy during the Democratic era, the current Turkish government has continued to focus on ways to strengthen the economy and avoid the 19th-century economic inflation from occurring once more (Shaw and Ezel 463). The monetary inflation of the 19th century explains the sluggish Turkish economy against other developed nations that attained independence during the same period when the Ottoman dynasty came to an end.

Conclusion

From the analysis above, it is clear that the 19th-century foundation and formation of the Republic of Turkey influenced a lot of Turkish history during the early periods and modern Turkey. This analysis has established ways in which the expelling of the Ottoman dynasty, the formation of a new government, and the 19th century period influenced Turkey's issues, which include but are not limited to; leadership, governance, economy, and politics. These four issues discussed in this essay, have influenced Turkish history up to modern times.

Work cited

Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. "Bibliography: History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 1808–1975." History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2017. 441-466.