Britain and Ottoman Domestic Politics
From the Young Turk Revolution to the Counter-Revolution, 1908-9
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10281163 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hasan Ünal (0000-0002-4661-111X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-22 |
| Publication date | 2001-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Middle Eastern Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-3206 • E-ISSN: 1743-7881 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/714004391 |
| OpenAlex | W2058394381 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 2 |
The counter-revolution, or the Incident of the 31 March 1909 against the Committee of Union and Progress (hereafter the CUP) (the Young Turks as they are known in Western historiography) is one of the most controversial points in Anglo-Turkish relations in the period under review.It has been suggested that the counter-revolution constituted a watershed in Britain's relations with Turkey marking the end of the honeymoon, which the two countries had enjoyed following the Young Turk revolution of July 1908. 1 It is maintained that this was due primarily to unlimited British support for the 'Liberal Unions' (Ahrar) which had become erstwhile adversaries of the CUP since the restoration of the Constitution.The British Embassy particularly was suspected of having been involved in fomenting, through various channels, even perhaps of funding and organizing the counterrevolution against the CUP. 2 According to these accounts, Britain's earlier commitments to Russia under the Anglo-Russian convention of 1907 determined London's policies towards the Ottoman Empire.And Britain sided with those least likely to obtain the upper hand because of her sneaking desire to give up Turkey as a prospective future ally by backing the wrong horse and thus antagonizing the CUP which was more likely than not to emerge victorious from the power struggle. 3 Before looking into the role that Britain allegedly played, it is first necessary to take a glance at her attitude towards differences of opinion within various Young Turk groups and between them and the Cabinet, for example, the CUP, the Liberal Unions and Kamil Pasha.From the outset, Britain's attitude towards differences of opinion between them all can be interpreted as one of indifference.Soon after his arrival in Constantinople, the British Ambassador, Sir Gerald Lowther, detected that there was a lack of experienced leading figures among the Young Turks, a view that was to be confirmed by Fitzmaurice, Chief Dragoman of the Embassy 4 and later in the autumn by
Ancient history · Economic history · Middle East · Middle Eastern studies · Political science · Politics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Turkey's Politics and Society
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2021 (15) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |