Bedross Der Matossian

Shattered Dreams of Revolution

From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Bedross Der Matossian is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 264
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. Oktober 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 236mm x 156mm x 22mm
• Gewicht: 486g
• ISBN-13: 9780804791472
• ISBN-10: 0804791473
• Artikelnr.: 40922107

Autorenporträt

Bedross Der Matossian is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late
Ottoman Empire
Author(s): Bedross Der Matossian
Introduction
chapter abstract
The introduction deals with the historiography of the Young Turk Revolution
of 1908 and the novelty that the project brings to the field. It situates
the Revolution in the larger context of Global wave of revolutions that
took place at the time. Through a macro-historical approach that includes
different regions of the Empire, ranging from central to peripheral areas,
the book elucidates the complexities of the 1908 Revolution. What is unique
about the book is its comparative, inter and intra-communal, and
cross-cultural analysis. In order to understand the impact of the
Revolution on these three ethnic groups, the second half of the chapter
provides a brief historical background of the major transformations that
these groups experienced in the nineteenth century.
1The Euphoria of the Revolution
chapter abstract
Chapter one examines one of the most important outcomes of the Young Turk
Revolution: the creation of multiple, competing public spheres. It utilizes
the concept of cultural history in order to demonstrate how ethnic groups
expressed themselves primarily through revolutionary rituals. Thus,
applying a subaltern approach, the chapter examines the political culture
of the ethnic groups, with a specific focus on symbolic presentation. By
using symbolism, space, language, speeches, and revolutionary figures in
revolutionary rituals, it provides a new understanding of the national
sentiments of the ethnic groups during the beginning of the Second
Constitutional Period.
2Debating the Future of the Empire
chapter abstract
Chapter two examines the printed forms of communication in the political
public spheres of the postrevolutionary period. The political discourse in
the postrevolutionary period created its own rationale, and defined the new
era by rejecting the established political beliefs of the ancien régime.
Understanding the printed forms of communication provides us with a better
understanding of the role of the press in shaping and molding the political
discourse among the different ethnic groups. The issues that were debated
among the ethnic groups after the postrevolutionary period were essential
in determining their policy, identity, and space in the Ottoman Empire. In
keeping with the French influence, freedom, equality, and fraternity; the
ancien régime; and the desired political system were the main contested
themes in the political discourse.
3The "Historical Period" and Its Impact on Ethnic Groups
chapter abstract
Chapter three examines the impact of the revolution on the three
nondominant groups in the Ottoman Empire. The struggles that were waged
within these communities under the rubric of revolution and
constitutionalism were shared features with the regional and the global
model of revolutions. This chapter illustrates how the Revolution of 1908
became the ultimate opportunity for the empire's different ethnic groups to
reform their communal structures and to initiate their own
microrevolutions. This was especially evident among the Armenians,
Christian Arabs, and the Jews. In the case of the Muslim Arabs, it led to
the erosion of the political and social stability due to serious changes in
the dynamics of power within the Arab provinces.
4From the Streets to the Ballots
chapter abstract
Chapter four discusses another marginalized topic within the
historiography, namely, the ethnic representation in the 1908 elections.
Through political participation, mobilization, and lobbying, ethnic groups
struggled internally and competed with one another in legitimizing the new
political body, the Parliament. The chapter discusses in-depth the phase
prior to the balloting, during which intensive negotiations took place
among and between the ethnic groups that defined the course of the
elections. It analyzes the 1908 elections from the perspective of the
expectations of the ethnic groups and their reaction to the outcomes of the
elections. Administrative decentralization, ethno-religious privileges,
national education, and proportional representation became the key factors
in the negotiation processes between the Committee of Union and Progress
(CUP) and the Armenians, Greeks, and to a certain extent, Jews and Arabs.
5From the Ballots to the Parliament
chapter abstract
Chapter five of the book discusses ethnic politics in the Ottoman
Parliament by analyzing the parliamentary debates. The analysis is based on
the official transcripts of the fifty-four parliamentary sessions published
in Takvim-i Vekayi. The chapter demonstrates that the major issues that
became factors in the deterioration of inter-ethnic relationships were at
the center of discussions in the parliamentary debates. It analyses
in-depth four main issues that preoccupied the ethnic groups in Parliament:
the Macedonian Question, concessions to foreign countries, reform in the
Anatolian provinces, and restrictions on the right to assembly.
6The Counterrevolution and the "Second Revolution"
chapter abstract
The last chapter of the book re-examines the Counterrevolution from the
perspective of the nondominant groups and analyses the reaction of the
ethnic press. It also discusses the participation of the ethnic groups in
quelling the Counter-revolution. After examining the impact of the
revolution on the different provinces, it concentrates on the region of
Adana where the Counterrevolution led to the massacre of more than twenty
thousand Armenians. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the reaction
of the ethnic groups to the policies of the CUP that resulted in the
Counterrevolution.
Conclusion
chapter abstract
The book concludes with the argument that the revolutionary dreams of the
Empire's nondominant groups were shattered not only by the CUP's
authoritarian tendencies, but also by the contradictory dynamics that
highlighted the revolutionary and postrevolutionary political processes.
The incompatibility of their dreams with those of the CUP and the
asymmetries of power that defined their relationship with the Young Turks
ensured these disappointments. From their weak position as nondominant
groups, they attempted to pressure the CUP into implementing long-awaited
reforms and pushed for decentralization. Once they realized that the
democratic process and their political visions had been aborted, these
groups resorted to mobilizing international powers to exert pressure on the
Ottoman government, a kind of interference that the CUP had despised from
the day of its inception.