SGMOIK/SSMOCI
(Schweizerische Gesellschaft Mittlerer Osten und Islamische Kulturen/
Société Suisse Moyen Orient et Civilisation Islamique) and
Basel University, Department of Islamic Studies, Europainstitut and
Department of History
Turkey has been deeply marked by nationalism in the 20th century. The
founders of the Republic of Turkey considered ethnic nationalism a
modern remedy for the problems of the moribund multireligious Ottoman
Empire in which they grew
up. But the human price paid for "national salvation" between World War
I
and World War II was high. The conference aims to explore the
historical impact,
gains and blind alleys of Turkish nationalism in the 20th century and
the
conditions for and evolutions towards "post-nationalism", i.e. a
political
spirit that permits the development of a liberal, multicultural
society.
This is particularly relevant in view of the discussions about Turkey's
joining
the EU, a subject on which there will be a public discussion on Friday
evening.
The opening public lecture on Thursday evening will be on the
much-debated question of whether Turkey belongs to Europe, a
question often connected with
the political challenge of Turkey's joining the EU.
Liberalism and ethno-religious variety versus political unitarism Because of its alleged lack of patriotism and ties with Britain
imperialism, political liberalism has been in a very difficult position
during the process of Turkish nation-building. The absence of deeply
rooted liberal traditions has marked the Republic since its beginning
in 1923, despite some early "acquis européen" like the adoption
of the Swiss Civil Code. As in many European countries at the time,
national sovereignty and unity were implemented in ethno-nationalist
and authoritarian terms, leaving little room for political pluralism
and ethno-religious variety. The perspective of joining the EU has,
however, proved to be a vehicle of post-national transformation in
Turkey in the last few years.
The urgency of leaving nationalism behind Turkey's strategic turn to the West after World War II did result
in the one-party state being transformed into a multiparty state. But
pluralism could not take root in the face of a strongly populist
nationalism. Thus the
problem of democracy and the minorities remained unresolved. Despite
early
attempts, Turkey was excluded from the process of trans- and
supranational construction in which Europe engaged in the second half
of the 20th century. Social and economical crises and civil wars made
life difficult, especially in the Kurdish East, and led to mass
emigration.
Resettlement, expulsion and genocide The still suppressed facts of expulsion, mass murder and forced
resettlement in the foundation period of the nation state (1913-1938)
and beyond are a most harrowing legacy of Turkish nationalism. Without
careful historical consideration,
leading to the shouldering of historical responsibility, these issues
will
continue to obstruct Turkey's future.
Biographies marked by nationalism The dramatic changes from the Ottoman to the post-Ottoman world can
be read in the lives both of those who endured that period and those
who determined
its course. Biographical writing on the leading nationalists,
especially
the general Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is still charaterized by
Kemalist
hagiography or, on the contrary, Islamist or Kurdish nationalist
denigration.
In historiography too, formulating post-national pluralist perspectives
is
an important challenge.