In what ways, for what purposes, and with what degree of success did the kemalist government between 1923 ands 1938 transform the main structures of the Ottoman state that it had inherited?

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                        In what ways, for what purposes, and with what degree

     of success did the kemalist government between 1923 ands 1938 transform the main

                         structures of the Ottoman state that it had inherited?   

       

         The kemalist reforms represent in itself a revolution because they destroyed the old Ottoman Empire and tried to establish a modern state of Turkey. The six principals expressing the kemalist state’s ideology are: republicanism, revolutionism, statism, secularism, nationalism and populism. The kemalist government transformed greatly the main structures of the Ottoman state making great progresses in political, social, legal, educational, cultural activities.

           One of the most important changes under the kemalist state were the political reforms. The first Turkish Republic was founded on 29 October 1923 and declared Mustafa Kemal as its first president. A year before the kemalist state had abolished the sultanates and a year later, in 1924 also abolished the caliphates. A modern new Constitution was adopted in 1924 whose aim was to create the necessary conditions for democracy. The purpose of these decisions was to secure a stabilized republic and the revival of the Islamic faith. To make the republic thoroughly secular, the kemalist state in 1928 removed any government involvement in religion. The reform made officially Ankara as the new capital of Turkey bringing unhappiness to the government of Istanbul. These reforms brought concerns to many Muslim communities but efforts to rechange them have been abortive. The kemalist state, aware of the existence of dissatisfaction, decided to encourage the creation of an opposite party (FRP), which would remain faithful to the kemalist principals of secularism and republicanism. Later on, facing the success the FRP party was having and also the opposition it brought, the kemalist state took under its control all the countries social, intellectual and cultural organizations.  

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           The social reforms were also very important changes during the kemalist state. Turkish women also got the right to vote, were encouraged to play a full part in the public life and were also encouraged to choose any profession. The kemalist state claimed that “If a society consisting of women and men, is content to apply progress and education to one half of itself, such a society is weakened by half. A nation aiming at progress and civilization must not overlook this.” (This saying is a remark from Kemal Ataturk in a speech made in ...

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