Turkey's Political History (1920-1939)

History of the Republic of Turkey

• The presented material is about the history of the Republic of Turkey.
• The lectures cover various aspects of the period, including political structures, economic policies, and significant historical events.
• The key themes are one-party states, opposition silencing, secularization, nationalism, language reform, and foreign policy.
• There is a focus on events such as the Split of the Turkish National Movement, the establishment of the Progressive Republican Party (PRP), Seyh Sait Revolt, the Law on the Maintenance of Order, and the closure of the PRP.
• The lecture also discusses the İzmir Conspiracy, the Purge of the Unionists, and historical speeches like the Nutuk.

One-Party State

• The political system in Turkey was declared a one-party state in 1931.
• Six Arrows were adopted as the programme of the Republican People's Party (RPP).
• Republicanism, nationalism, populism, secularism, revolutionism (reformism), and etatism were important elements in the RPP's program.
• The congruency between the state apparatus and the party organization was declared official policy.
• The governor of each province became the head of the RPP branch in that province.
• Autonomous cultural and political organizations were closed down.
• The Turkish Hearts (Türk Ocakları) were closed down in 1931.
• People's Homes (Halk Evleri) and People's Rooms (Halk Odaları) replaced the Türk Ocakları in 1932 and 1935 respectively.
• The Turkish Women's Union (Türk Kadınlar Birliği) was closed down in 1935.

Opposition Silenced

• The Progressive Republican Party (PRP) was established in November 1924.
• The Seyh Sait Revolt occurred in February 1925.
• The Law on the Maintenance of Order (Takrir-i Sükun Kanunu) silenced opposition.
• The PRP was closed down in June 1925.
• The İzmir Conspiracy and the purge of the Unionists were significant events during this period.
• The Speech (Nutuk) was presented before the Republican People's Party Congress from 15 to 20 October 1927.

Tutelary Democracy

• The Free Republican Party (Serbest Cumhuriyet Firkasi) was founded by Fethi Okyar in August 1930, following Mustafa Kemal's request.
• The party was closed down in November 1930.
• The Menemen Incident occurred in December 1930.
• A small town in İzmir, Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay was killed by reactionaries.

One-Party Regime (1931)

• A political system declared to be a one-party state in 1931.
• RPP Congress in 1931, Six Arrows were incorporated into the programme in 1931.
• RPP Congress in 1936, official policy on state-party congruency was declared.
• Six Arrows were incorporated into the constitution in 1937.

Secularism

• Reforms of the 19th century were intensified in the state, education, and law.
• The abolition of the sultanate (1922) and the caliphate (1924) happened.
• Islam ceased to be the official religion in 1928.
• The Swiss civil code and the Italian penal code were adopted in 1926.
• Traditional headgear (fez and turban) were banned in 1925.
• Dervish orders (tarikats) were suppressed in November 1925.
• Western models of timekeeping (clocks and calendars), numerals, and measures were adopted.
• Family names were introduced in 1934.

Nationalism and Language Reform

• The Latin alphabet was adopted in 1928.
• The use of the new alphabet became compulsory in public communications from January 1929.
• The Society for the Study of the Turkish Language (Türk Dili Tetkik Cemiyeti) was founded in 1932.
• The Society's aim was to purify Turkish of Persian and Arabic words and grammar.
• The Sun-Language Theory (Güneş Dil Teorisi) was launched in 1935, becoming officially accepted in 1936.
• The objective of the reforms was to assert Turkish as stemming from a single ancestral language.

Turkish History Thesis

• The Society for the Study of Turkish History (Türk Tarihi Tetkik Cemiyeti), later the Turkish History Institute (Türk Tarih Kurumu), was founded in 1931.
• The Turkish History Thesis, based on the theory that Turks are descendants of white (Aryan) inhabitants of Central Asia was developed in 1932.
• This theory stated that these people were driven to migrate, forming various civilizations.
• This theory became the foundation of history teaching in schools and universities.

Economy

• The First Economy Congress was held in İzmir in February 1923.
• A mixed economic program was formulated, based on private ownership and initiative.
• The state played a role in supporting major investments and infrastructural improvements.
• Foreign capital investments were encouraged.

State and Economy in the 1930s

• The economic crisis beginning in 1929 led the state to develop and run industries.
• The Soviet Union supplied funds for Turkey's industrialization programme.
• A Soviet delegate visited Turkey in 1932 to aid the development of Turkish industrialization.
• The First Five-Year Plan was announced in 1933.
• Sümerbank (for industry) and Etibank (for mining) were established in 1933 and 1935 respectively.

Foreign Policy

• Foreign policy aimed to preserve and consolidate the status quo established in Lausanne.
• The Mosul, Hatay Questions, along with the outstanding Ottoman public debt issue were crucial.
• The economic crisis of 1929 led to a restructuring of public debt repayments.
• Relations with the Soviet Union were important, with a ten-year friendship treaty signed in 1935.
• Turkey enhanced relations with neighboring states through agreements, such as the Balkan Pact (1934) and the Sadabad Pact (1937).

Mosul Question

• The issue of Mosul remained unresolved in Lausanne.
• Britain insisted on including Mosul the treaty.
• Turkey proposed a plebiscite as an alternative.
• Negotitions between Turkey and Britain between 1923 and 1924 continued.
• The case was brought before the League of Nations (Turkey joined in 1932).
• A League of Nations commission determined Mosul to be part of Iraq.
• Turkey acquiesced in 1926, accepting compensation for relinquishing its claim.

District of Alexandretta (Hatay)

• The Franco-Turkish Treaty of 1921 declared the District of Alexandretta autonomous.
• Hatay was attached to the French mandate of Syria in 1925.
• In 1936, France announced preparations to transfer Hatay to independent Syria.
• In 1937, a League of Nations mission concluded that the population in the region was predominantly Turkish.
• Hatay became an independent entity in November 1937.
• The Republic of Hatay was proclaimed in September 1938.
• Turkish deputies attained a majority in elections in June 1938.
• Hatay was integrated into Turkey on 29 June 1939.

Leadership

• İsmet İnönü served as prime minister between 1925 and 1937.
• İsmet İnönü was replaced by Celal Bayar in 1937, following disagreements with Mustafa Kemal.
• Celal Bayar served as prime minister until his resignation in 1939.
• İnönü and Bayar held differing opinions on economic policies, involving statism and liberalism.
• Following Mustafa Kemal's death in 1938, İsmet İnönü became the national leader (milli şef).

Kadro (Cadre)

• Kadro (Cadre), a journal published between 1932 and 1934, aimed to build a cadre for the Kemalist revolutionary vanguard.
• The journal was edited by Şevket Süreyya Aydemir, Vedat Nedim Tör, Burhan Asaf Belge, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, and İsmail Hüsrev Tökin.
• The objective was to transform the RPP elite into an elite cadre for the revolution.
• It presented Kemalism as an alternative to capitalism and communism.