History of Modern Turkey

Research on small powers has composed a slim section of International Relations literature. More focus has been given on super, great, and middle powers since their interactions have more influence. Differentiating small from middle powers is also problematic, unlike distinguishing great powers from these two. The difficulty of choosing the "right" quantitative and/or qualitative criteria for defining state power is one major reason for this. Therefore, this study, rather than developing a quan-titative/qualitative contents list for outlining small powers, aims to utilize a so far not-well-tried approach of testing their diplomatic success. For this, it uses small powers' resilience-vulnerability nexus to examine Turkish politico-economic diplomacy in the 1930s. Quantitatively and qualitatively, the 1930s Turkey was an acceptable example of a small power. The study aims to prove that Turkey furthered its national interests by overshadowing its vulnerabilities with a resilient small power diplomacy.

Bu çalışmada, Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e geçiş sürecinde, geçmişin izlerini gelecek kuşaklara aktarmada önemli bir rol oynayan kültür varlıklarının milli kimlik üzerindeki etkisi incelenmektedir. Bu inceleme iki dönem üzerinden yapılmaktadır. Birinci dönem Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e geçiş süreci ve inkılaplar dönemidir. İkinci dönem ise Türk milli kimliğinin şekillendirilmesinde daha kapsamlı politikaların izlendiği 1930’lu yılların sonuna kadar süren ve Türk Tarih Tezinin etkisini hissettirdiği dönemdir. Cumhuriyet’in ilk yıllarında yeni rejimle birlikte ortaya çıkan Türk devletine yeni bir kimlik oluşturmak için alternatif bir tarih anlatısına ihtiyaç duyulmuştur. Bu anlatıya dâhil olan kültür varlıklarının bir kısmı ihtiyaç duyulmadığı gerekçesiyle elden çıkarılırken, diğer bir kısmı özellikle korunmuş ve işlev değiştirerek hayatına devam etmiştir. Arkeolojik kazılara ve müzelere verilen önemin artması da bu sürecin bir sonucudur. Tüm bunlar hem kültür politikalarını hem de Türk milli kimliğini şekillendirmiştir. Çalışma sırasında Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı Cumhuriyet Arşivi kayıtlarından, kültür varlıkları ve müzelerin milli kimlik üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya koyabilecek araştırma yayınlarından; Türk Tarih Tezini desteklemek amacıyla çıkarılan Türk Tarih Kurumu Belleten Dergisi’nden ve dönemin öne çıkan basın kaynaklarından biri olarak Cumhuriyet gazetesinden yararlanılmıştır. Bu çalışma göstermektedir ki milli bir kimlik oluşturulurken kültür varlıkları önemli roller üstlenmektedir ve kültür varlıklarının nasıl değerlendirileceği meselesi aslen kültürel değil siyasi bir meseledir.
In this article, playing a key role in conveying the traces of the past to the future generations, the cultural assets’ influence on the national identity formation was studied. The study was divided into two main periods. The first period focuses on the transition period from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic and the era of reforms. As for the second, it elaborates the period until the end of the 1930s when more comprehensive policies were adopted in shaping the national identity and Turkish History Thesis exerted much influence. During the first years of the Republic, a new historical discourse was needed to form a new national identity for the Turkish state which emerged together with the new regime. While some of the cultural assets which was included in this historical discourse was discarded because they were not needed, the remainder was particularly protected and continued their existence by changing their functions. The rising interest in the museums and archeological excavations was a result of this process. All of these formed the culture policies as well as the Turkish national identity. For the study, Republic Archives of the State Archives Presidency, the research publications which will help reveal the influence of the museums and cultural assets on the national identity, the Belleten journal which was started to be published to support the Turkish History Thesis and the Cumhuriyet newspaper, one of the prominent press resources of the era were examined. This study argues that the cultural assets undertake significant roles in building a national identity and it is political issue rather than cultural how the cultural assets is utilized.

1900s: Searching For Identity in Architecture: From the Late Ottoman Era to the Early Republic

            The 19th century is an era that the Westernization process has impacted all fields in the Ottoman Empire turning its front towards the West. The features of the era were reflected in the late Ottoman architecture. The Ottoman architecture moved away from the classical style and approached European architectural style during this process. One of the striking features of the era is that the political developments and the non-Muslim Ottoman architect families had a large share in the city’s taking this western appearance today.
     
            The early republican era of the Turkish architecture can be summarized as a struggle for building an identity. On the one hand there is a long tradition of a great empire and on the other, a brand new Republic. Some wanted to interpret the imperial legacy of the Ottomans in the architecture and aesthetics into the new buildings and some wanted to adopt the forms of modern movements.
           
       
        The appearance of today’s Istanbul was shaped by great architects from the 19th century to the early Republic. They tried to fit into the constantly changing world view of its time. To create an identity or a national architecture was always the main goal for the architects in the struggle of finding its place between the East and the West amid the constantly changing political ideology of the state.