Beyond Positivism: Building Turkish Laiklik in the Transition from the Empire to the Republic (1908–38)

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-327
Author(s):  
Efe Peker
Keyword(s):  
State Building ◽  
Institutional Form ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Formation Dynamics ◽  
Capitalist State ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Multiple Secularities ◽  
Turkish Case

AbstractThe literature on the development of secularism in Turkey, or laiklik, often cites the national state builders’ positivist worldviews as a principal explanatory factor. Accordingly, the legal-institutional form Turkish secularism took in the 1920s and 1930s is derived, to a large extent, from the Unionists’ and Republicans’ science-driven, antireligious ideologies. Going beyond solely ideational narratives, this article places the making of secularism in Turkey in the context of the sociopolitical contention for national-capitalist state building. In so doing, the article contributes to the latest “spatiotemporal” turn in the secularization literature, characterized by an increased attention to historical critical junctures, and sensitivity to multiple secularities occurring in Western as well as non-Western geographies. Based on a bridging of the secularization scholarship with that of state formation, and building extensively on Turkish archival material, I argue that the trajectory, fluctuations, and contradictions of secularization can be closely associated with two intertwined master processes: (1) the construction of internal and external sovereign state capacity, and (2) geographically specific trajectories of class formation/dynamics. The Turkish case demonstrates that secular settlements cannot be explained away simply by reference to the guiding ideas of actors. Contentious episodes such as civil-bureaucratic conflict, war and geopolitics, and class struggles/alliances make a significant imprint on the secularizing process.

scholarly journals Konferensi Inter-Indonesia Tahun 1949: Wujud Konsensus Nasional antara Republik Indonesia dengan Bijeenkomst voor Federaal Overleg

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Widhi Setyo Putro
Keyword(s):  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
National Anthem ◽  
United State ◽  
Consensus Theory ◽  
National Consensus ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

This article discusses the national consensus between the Republic of Indonesia (RI) and the Bijeenkomst voor Federaal Overleg (BFO) which embodied in the 1949 Inter-Indonesia Conference. Using conflict and consensus theory of Ralf Dahrendorf, this article seeks to understand the conflicts of interest background and the process towards a consensus between RI and BFO. The conflict between RI and BFO motivated by the Dutch aimed to control Indonesia. One of his efforts was to divide the Indonesian nation by forming states, which led to a conflict between the Republicans (Republicans) who supported the united state, and the federalists (BFO) in favor of the federal state. The study found that the Dutch federal policy was not entirely a success because the federalists which incorporated in BFO was not affected. The conflict between the Republican and federalists subsided with the implementation of the Goodwill Mission and the sending of the BFO Liaison Commission to meet Indonesian leaders detained after the Dutch Military Aggression II. The summit was a national consensus between RI and BFO, it embodied in the Inter-Indonesia Conference in 1949 which took placed at Yogyakarta and Jakarta. They reached a consensus by agreeing on fundamental issues as the identity of a sovereign state, such as the name of the country, Merah Putih as the official flag, Bahasa Indonesia as the official language, and the Indonesia Raya as the national anthem.

scholarly journals COUNTERING TEMPORARY OCCUPATION: INTERNATIONAL ASPECT, FOREIGN EXPERIENCE, AND NATIONAL REALITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-19
Author(s):  
Yaroslav Kushnir ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Turkish Republic ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Foreign Experience ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Northern Cyprus ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Republic Of Cyprus

This article provides a comprehensive study in areas of counteraction to the temporarily occupied territories of a sovereign state. Regulations, doctrinal approaches, international experience serve as a subject to this study in the context of a set of functional national activities of states that have faced the issue of territories’ separation. Particular attention is paid to foreign experience in counteracting the temporary occupation through the prism of the Republic of Cyprus which held an activity to counter the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as one of the most successful examples of confrontation with the temporarily occupied territories for a long time and comparing Ukraine's activities in this field. To this end, the author conducts a comprehensive analysis of measures aimed at combating the spread and recognition of the temporarily occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the scientific achievements of international scientists who have studied this issue. Analyzing these objects, the author carries out the qualification based on the criteria of differentiation of measures accepted by foreign scientists and determines which measures were implemented to solve the same problem in Ukraine. Given the personal experience of operational and service activities of the author and a deep awareness of this topic, it is proposed to expand the generally accepted areas of counteraction. The author provides the grounding of additional direction on how to counter the expansion and recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories, disclosing a complex of measures which were, and can be introduced for its realization. The result of this study is the formation of the author's approach to defining the complex concept of «counteraction to temporary occupation», the formation of a list of national measures to combat the temporarily occupied territories, and their classification, as well as proposals for the most effective countermeasures and their further use in law enforcement.

scholarly journals Franjo Tuđman in the Sources of the Rebel Serbs at the beginning of the 1990s

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-101
Author(s):  
Ante Nazor
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
The Republic

This work presents some legal acts passed and initiatives launched by the Croatian government the aim of which was to protect the rights of the national minorities in Croatia and reach an agreement with the representatives of the Serbs in Croatia so as to avoid armed conflict. The facts presented in this work are important in the context of any given analysis about the issue of whether the Serbs were marginalized with the change of government in Croatia in 1990 and whether their armed rebellion was caused by actions made by the Croatian government and President Tuđman or came as a result of careful planning by proponents of the idea of Greater Serbia. We used a number of documents from the archival material of the Republic of Serbian Krajina to show what had been said and written about President Tuđman in the first half of the 1990s by political and military representatives of those Croatian Serbs that rebelled against the Croatian government and participated in the armed aggression against the Republic of Croatia. We describe how the Serb leadership in the temporarily occupied areas of Croatia accused the Croatian government and Franjo Tuđman of conducting criminal and “national-Fascist” policies against the Serbs and present the facts that completely debunk the accusations. These facts include official documents issued and decisions reached by the Croatian government about protecting the national minorities in Croatia during the mandate of President Tuđman. The work ends with the conclusion that the mentioned accusations were launched for the purpose of creating a greater Serbian state by homogenizing the Serbs.

‘What, Then, of the Land’?: Territoriality, International Law, and the Republic of New Afrika

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Sam Klug
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Society ◽  
National Development ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Postcolonial States ◽  
International Legal Personality

Abstract This article charts how African American appeals to international law shifted away from a politics of petition to a politics of sovereignty with the growing influence of postcolonial states in international society and the UN’s recognition of a right to self-determination. Whereas earlier efforts by African-descended peoples in the Americas to gain a hearing before international bodies often required pushing the boundaries of international legal personality to include entities other than states, in the late 1960s and early 1970s a black nationalist group called the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) pursued international subjectivity in its traditional and fullest form: as a sovereign state. Examining the writings of RNA leaders, especially Imari Obadele, this article explores how the group’s claims for territory, reparations, and international subjectivity relied on international legal discourse about plebiscites, self-determination, and national development.

Cultural Barriers to Environmental Mobilization in the Republic of Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 773-793
Author(s):  
Ş. İlgü Özler ◽  
Brian K. Obach
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Environmental Movement ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Turkish Republic ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Environmental Mobilization ◽  
Turkish Case ◽  
Republic Of Turkey

The Republic of Turkey provides an opportunity to examine how aspects of national culture can foster sentiments contrary to environmental mobilization. Two deeply rooted cultural values embedded at the founding of the Turkish Republic, a commitment to developmentalism and a strong suspicion of foreign interference, have served to undermine the Turkish environmental movement. Calls for environmental protection are perceived by many as foreign-inspired efforts to inhibit economic development and keep Turkey subservient to more developed nations. In addition, the Turkish case reveals how cultural division can divert attention from issues such as environmental protection. The country is characterized by sharp social boundaries between secularists and more conservative Islamists. This profound cultural divide taints all attempts at issue-based mobilization, including that around environmental protection. An analysis of interview data from 50 environmental movement leaders and government officials demonstrates how deeply held cultural values and social division serve to undermine environmental mobilization.

A Muslim Vision for the Chinese Nation: Chinese Pilgrimage Missions to Mecca during World War II

2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufeng Mao
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
North China ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
World War ◽  
Muslim Population ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Chinese Nation ◽  
The Republic

In the late 1930s, three groups of Sino-Muslims went on hajj trips to Mecca. Two of them represented the Republic of China, while one represented the puppet government in Japanese-occupied North China. Reflecting the political importance of the Muslim population in the Sino-Japanese struggle, each group engaged in propaganda efforts for its government. However the Sino-Muslims who participated in these missions were not merely the passive pawns of Chinese authorities. Rather, archival material and published sources in Chinese and Arabic show that Sino-Muslims actively used these missions to advance a vision of the Chinese nation in which Muslims would play an important role in domestic and foreign affairs. This vision was based on a particular understanding of global politics which allowed Sino-Muslim elites to reconcile the transnational characteristic of Islam with loyalty to the territorially bound “Chinese nation.”

“Imagined Territory: The Republic of China’s 1955 Veto of Mongolian Membership in the United Nations”

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-295
Author(s):  
Keith Allan Clark II
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Republic

In 1955, Jiang Tingfu, representing the Republic of China (roc), vetoed Mongolia’s entry into the United Nations. In the 26 years the roc represented China in the United Nations, it only cast this one veto. The roc’s veto was a contentious move because Taipei had recognized Mongolia as a sovereign state in 1946. A majority of the world body, including the United States, favored Mongolia’s admission as part of a deal to end the international organization’s deadlocked-admissions problem. The roc’s veto placed it not only in opposition to the United Nations but also its primary benefactor. This article describes the public and private discourse surrounding this event to analyze how roc representatives portrayed the veto and what they thought Mongolian admission to the United Nations represented. It also examines international reactions to Taipei’s claims and veto. It argues that in 1955 Mongolia became a synecdoche for all of China that Taipei claimed to represent, and therefore roc representatives could not acknowledge it as a sovereign state.

Federalism and Caudillismo in the Mexican Revolution: The Genesis of the Oaxaca Sovereignty Movement (1915–20)

1985 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Garner
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Mexican Revolution ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
The State ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Town

On 3 June 1915 the state legislature of Oaxaca in southern Mexico issued a decree which proclaimed that the ‘free and sovereign state of Oaxaca reassumes its sovereignty until such time as constitutional order is restored in the republic’ (i.e. in accordance with the Constitution of 1857). Governor José Inés Dávila therefore declared that the executive and legislative branches of the state government would assume control and responsibility over the federal agencies and services within the state. The justification for this dramatic course of action, taken at the height of a period of intense civil war in Mexico, was the decree issued by Venustiano Carranza in December 1914, which had suspended the Constitution in favour of a ‘temporary’ period of pre-constitutional government over which he was personally to retain strict executive control as First Chief of the Constitutionalist Army – thus effectively dissolving the constitutional base of the federation. The immediate casus belli was the occupation of the town of Pochutla on Oaxaca's Pacific coast on 1 May by a detachment of Constitutionalist troops, in what Governor Inés Dávila described as ‘a preconceived plan of attack on the sovereignty of the state’.

scholarly journals Coalitions and Language Politics: Policy Shifts in Southeast Asia

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy H. Liu ◽  
Jacob I. Ricks
Keyword(s):  
State Building ◽  
Language Politics ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Linguistic Group ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Building Process ◽  
The Government ◽  
Policy Shifts ◽  
Southeast Asian Countries

Why is it that some governments recognize only one language while others espouse multilingualism? Related, why are some governments able to shift language policies, and if there is a shift, what explains the direction? In this article, the authors argue that these choices are theproduct of coalitional constraints facing the government during critical junctures in history. During times of political change in the state-building process, the effective threat of an alternate linguistic group determines the emergent language policy. If the threat is low, the government moves toward monolingual policies. As the threat increases, however, the government is forced to co-opt the alternate linguistic group by shifting the policy toward a greater degree of multilingualism. The authors test this argument by examining the language policies for government services and the education system in three Southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand).

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