On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History
How can we explain the fact that an impartial history of the Turkish revolution, understood in its broadest sense, i.e. from 1908 to the early 1940s, has yet to be written? The explanation lies in the fact that, in Turkey, the writing of history has never ceased to mirror political contention. Just...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-Orient
2023-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Turkish Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/7564 |
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| author | Ahmet Kuyaş |
| author_facet | Ahmet Kuyaş |
| author_sort | Ahmet Kuyaş |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | How can we explain the fact that an impartial history of the Turkish revolution, understood in its broadest sense, i.e. from 1908 to the early 1940s, has yet to be written? The explanation lies in the fact that, in Turkey, the writing of history has never ceased to mirror political contention. Just as the old official "Kemalist" historiography was systematically revisited from the 1980s onwards, so the so-called "post-Kemalist" historiography needs to be critically examined. This history will have to take account of the plurality of tendencies (liberalism, ultra-nationalism, anti-imperialism) within an overall project that, despite its contradictions and gropings, can be defined as democratic and developmentalist; it will take account of the socio-cultural realities of a country that was still underdeveloped, without neglecting the international context, marked by European wars and colonization. Finally, it will avoid the presentist bias that selectively seeks the supposed causes of the current political situation in the more or less distant past. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-75cb8b658bae45bcbad4db02cc19d5fa |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1773-0546 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Association pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-Orient |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Turkish Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-75cb8b658bae45bcbad4db02cc19d5fa2025-08-20T02:21:12ZengAssociation pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-OrientEuropean Journal of Turkish Studies1773-05462023-01-013510.4000/ejts.7564On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love HistoryAhmet KuyaşHow can we explain the fact that an impartial history of the Turkish revolution, understood in its broadest sense, i.e. from 1908 to the early 1940s, has yet to be written? The explanation lies in the fact that, in Turkey, the writing of history has never ceased to mirror political contention. Just as the old official "Kemalist" historiography was systematically revisited from the 1980s onwards, so the so-called "post-Kemalist" historiography needs to be critically examined. This history will have to take account of the plurality of tendencies (liberalism, ultra-nationalism, anti-imperialism) within an overall project that, despite its contradictions and gropings, can be defined as democratic and developmentalist; it will take account of the socio-cultural realities of a country that was still underdeveloped, without neglecting the international context, marked by European wars and colonization. Finally, it will avoid the presentist bias that selectively seeks the supposed causes of the current political situation in the more or less distant past.https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/7564historiographyKemalismrevolutionpost-Kemalismdemocracy |
| spellingShingle | Ahmet Kuyaş On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History European Journal of Turkish Studies historiography Kemalism revolution post-Kemalism democracy |
| title | On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History |
| title_full | On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History |
| title_fullStr | On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History |
| title_full_unstemmed | On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History |
| title_short | On “Post-Kemalism” or How to Stop Worrying about Politics and Love History |
| title_sort | on post kemalism or how to stop worrying about politics and love history |
| topic | historiography Kemalism revolution post-Kemalism democracy |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/7564 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ahmetkuyas onpostkemalismorhowtostopworryingaboutpoliticsandlovehistory |