Nation and Migration in Late-Ottoman Spheres of (Legal) Belonging

A Comparative Look at Laws on Nationality

Bibliographic Data

ID11047229
AuthorsA Ebru Akcasu (0000-0001-9046-6899, Charles University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume49
Issue6
Pages1113-1131
Publication date2021-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/nps.2020.79
OpenAlexW3128569711
LanguageEN
References cited49

The last century of the Ottoman state’s existence witnessed the transformation of the term “Ottoman” from an elite, class-based, and exclusive designation to one including and identifying all whose allegiances were tied to the state. Despite this semantic shift, the verdict is still out on the question of late-Ottoman inclusivity. Indeed, exclusivist is a term more frequently coupled with policy and law. Though the former can be considered exclusivist in many instances from the late 19th century through the dissolution of the empire, the designation does not fit the legal framework and terminology that articulated belonging. To recognize this, it is imperative to approach the 1869 Ottoman Nationality Law from a comparative perspective, especially, though not strictly, with reference to Great Power laws, since these legalities are the yardstick by which Ottoman rational modernity has been measured. This article considers access to actual and potential membership in various nationality laws in relation to their Ottoman counterpart and concludes that the exclusivist designation is questionable. Instead, Ottoman law does not present an anomaly and was in many instances both more expansive and more inclusive than others—even if it has been subjected to a different vocabulary than contemporaneous laws with similar stipulations

Bulgarian · Elite · Immigration · Linguistics · Nationality · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Terminology · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Turkey's Politics and Society

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