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Proponents of modernization theory
Proponents of modernization theory
Modernization theory essays
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The Kemalist understanding of the secular and secularism which has characterised the institutional and legal framework of Turkish society since the foundation of the Republic is tightly linked to the concept of modernity. A legacy of the Enlightenment, modernisation theses hold that as reason supplants superstition, religion's influence on society will recede. If Kant held thatt “the spread of knowledge and reason would mean […] “holding religion within the bounds of reason”” (Benhabib, 2010:452), Weber went further to argue that modernisation would mean “dispensing with religion altogether in the name of modern reason and an emancipated society” (ibid). Such approaches were instrumental to the Kemalist project of Westernisation of Turkish society.
Historical background
However, notions of the secular and the modern did not emerge with Mustafa Kemal. The modernisation tide began well before his rise to power. Already in the 19th century, Ottoman elites realised the need for reform to address nationalism within and imperial threats without. Hence, the Tanzimat reforms (1839-1876) were meant to modernise (i.e. Westernise) and consolidate the empire. A centralised and bureaucratic system was established and efforts were made to inculcate a sense of Ottomanism to the empire's multi-ethnic subjects (Kuru, 2009b:205-8). Secular courts, schools and laws were formally established and coexisted along with Islamic institutions. No explicit secular ideology was, however, framed and no contradiction was perceived in this cohabitation of the secular and the sacred (ibid). The sultan himself embodied this coexistence as both a temporal and spiritual leader. Already in the 19th century existed this idea that Islam and modernity, including Is...
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Kuru, A. T., 2009a, “Assertive Secularism and the Islamic Challenge (1997-2008)”, in Secularism and State Policies Towards Religion, Cambridge University Press, pp.161-201
Kuru, A. T., 2009b, “Westernisation and the Emergence of Assertive Secularism (1826-1997)”, in Secularism and State Policies Towards Religion, Cambridge University Press, pp.202-235
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Yilmaz, I., 2002, “Secular Law and the Emergence of Unofficial Turkish Islamic law”, Middle East Journal, 56(1), pp. 113-131
Between 1301 to 1922, in the region north of present day Syria, was known as the Ottoman empire. It was rooted in the belief that Islam as an ideology should be in power. One territory held by the Ottoman empire was their homeland of Turkey. In 1907, the Sultan Abdul Hamid II, wanted for the most part to have people who were educated outside of the country limited in what they could do, and if not then they were expunged, as he thought that they were the cause of his land’s plight and decline. This resulted in him becoming very unpopular with his people, thus having many secret societies created practically under his nose. The most important being The Young Turks.
Class notes from POSC 201, Introduction to Western Political Theory , by Dr. Scot Hammond, Department of Political Science, James Madison University. Spring Semester 2002.
14?Narli, Nilufer. ?The Rise of the Islamist Movement in Turkey.? Middle East Review of International
...e, vague topics. The disunity made the Church too unstable to continue possessing political power and so the State became the head of politics, and now we have separation of Church and State, which is renders this time “a secular Western culture” (Powell 6).
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
Ayoob, M. (2007) The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim
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Sultan Mahmud II, and various other Europeanized Ottoman bureaucrats initiated what is known today as the largest reform movement in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Tanzimat changed life in the Ottoman Empire drastically, and completely revolutionized how the Ottomans lived. Previously, the empire was home to various different, nationalities, races, religions and cultures. During the Tanzimat, a major effort was made to unite these people, which is often referred to as the policy of Ottomanism. This resulted in the creation of a national anthem, and the establishment of a national flag. In the past, Islamic law was predominant, but was replaced by secular law, so no individual groups were left out. The Tanzimat’s main focus was to replace it’s old, outdated ways, with more of a westernized approach. The reforms varied greatly, but for the most part, they were all made to help modernize the empire.
Rippin A. 1990, Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Volume 1: The Formative Period, Routledge, London and New York.
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Adrian Pabst (2012). The secularism of post-secularity: religion, realism, and the revival of grand theory in IR. Review of International Studies, 38, pp 995-1017.
...olutionist reforms proved permanent, and gave Turkey domestic peace and a measure of prosperity even in his lifetime. But Kemalism has also left Turkey with a divided identity - Europeanised but not quite European, alienated from the Islamic world but still a Muslim country.
CHANDRA, ABHIMANYU. "Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid." The Yale Review of International Studies RSS. N.p., Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
7th edition. London: Pearson Longman, ed. Garner, R., Ferdinand, P. and Lawson, S. (2009) Introduction to Politics. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.