Liberal Kemalism [1] [2] is a convergence between Kemalism, the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey, [3] and the idea of liberalism, which is based on liberty. [4]
Liberal Kemalism is a synthesis of classical liberalism and Kemalism. It was created by Ahmet Ağaoğlu in the 1930s, [5] who was previously a nationalist person. [6]
Most Liberal Kemalists support Kemalist ideas such as secularism, republicanism, and reformism.
Even though Liberal Kemalism was formalised by Ahmet Ağaoğlu, some historian's might argue the fact that Atatürk was a liberal too in persona, or a more precisely estimate would be that he was a social liberal or a national liberal, but wasn't able to act on his liberal thoughts for the first decade of the republic because of the shortage of capital. Those historians support this idea with several evidentiary proofs. One of them being an opening speech that Atatürk made on November 1, 1937: "Unless there is an absolute necessity, the markets can't be intervened; also, no markets can be completely free." Secondly, the historians argue the fact that most of the regulations that has been decided at Izmir Economics Congress (1923) were liberal too. And for a final proof, historians say that after the resignation of the prime minister of the time İsmet İnönü, who is known to be a supporter of statist and a more regulated economy, Atatürk's assigning of Celal Bayar – who is known to be a liberal – to the Prime Ministry position in 1937, was indeed an act to make the markets of Turkey more liberal.
Liberal Kemalism defends Atatürk's understanding of nationalism in the social sphere. It is the concept of nationalism, which is also stated in Article 88 of the 1924 Constitution and Atatürk's six principles, and which bases the definition of nation on cultural and political unity, regardless of religion or race. [7]
Liberal Kemalism, just like Kemalism argues that it is necessary to give everyone freedom of conscience, faith and thought.
Liberal Kemalism advocates a free market economy with social government policies and enough regulation to guarantee a fair market, similar to Atatürk's statism. [8] Free market is a system in which the prices for goods and services are self-regulated by buyers and sellers negotiating in an open market.
Liberal Kemalism emerged in the early periods of the republic in Turkey as a result of the interpretation of Kemalist thought from a liberal point of view by Ahmet Ağaoğlu. Ağaoğlu described himself as "Reformist and Kemalist" on the one hand, while trying to develop a "Liberal Kemalism" idea. Ağaoğlu, an advocate of individual freedoms within the Republican People's Party, criticized some of the party's policies. Later, Ağaoğlu moved away from CHF with his liberal-based ideas and joined the Liberal Republican Party at Atatürk's request and was described as one of the most important figures in the SCF, even the ideologue of the party. He did not return to CHF after the Liberal Republican Party closed. [4] [9]
It is seen that the understanding of individualism has an important place in the thought and political life of Ahmet Ağaoğlu, who is one of the important representatives of the enlightened politician model, which was widely seen in the first years of the Turkish Republic. He evaluates his views on modernization, society, democracy, freedom and economy within the framework of individualism. Considering the general political atmosphere both in the country and in the world, it is clear that Ağaoğlu's approach is quite exceptional. In these years when liberalism lost its credibility in the intellectual and political circles, Ağaoğlu insistently advocates that political, economic and social liberal principles should be taken as a basis in order for the new state to survive and develop in a strong and healthy way. [10]
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited government and an overall more laissez-faire style of governance. While both are committed to personal freedoms, social liberalism places greater emphasis on the role of government in addressing social inequalities and ensuring public welfare.
Liberalism was introduced in the Ottoman Empire during the Tanzimat period of reformation.
Kemalism or Atatürkism is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. Its symbol is the Six Arrows.
Kadro was an influential left-nationalist and left-Kemalist magazine published in Turkey between January 1932 and December 1934. The title of Kadro translates from Turkish as "cadre".
The one-party period of the Republic of Turkey began with the formal establishment of the country in 1923. The Republican People's Party (CHP) was the only party between 1923 and 1945, when the National Development Party was established. After winning the first multiparty elections in 1946 by a landslide, the Republican People's Party lost the majority to the Democratic Party in the 1950 elections. During the one-party period, President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk repeatedly requested that opposition parties be established to stand against the Republican People's Party in order to transition into multi-party democracy. Kâzım Karabekir established the Progressive Republican Party in 1924 but it was banned after its members' involvement in the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion. In 1930 the Liberal Republican Party was established but then dissolved again by its founder. Despite Atatürk's efforts to establish a self-propagating multi-party system, this was only established after his death in 1938.
Ahmet Ağaoğlu, also known as Ahmet Bey Ağaoğlu, was a prominent Azerbaijani and naturalized Turkish politician, publicist and journalist. He was one of the founders of Pan-Turkism and liberal Kemalism.
The Democrat Party was a centre-right political party in Turkey, and the country's third legal opposition party, after the Liberal Republican Party established by Ali Fethi Okyar in 1930, and the National Development Party established by Nuri Demirağ in 1945. Founded and led by Celâl Bayar and Adnan Menderes, it was the first of the opposition parties to rise to power, de-seating the Republican People's Party during the national elections of 1950 and ending Turkey's one party era. The party ″facilitated the resurgence of Islam, especially at the popular level, in Turkey″.
The Turkish National Movement, also known as the Anatolian Movement, the Nationalist Movement, and the Kemalists, included political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resulted in the creation and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the subsequent occupation of Constantinople and partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by the Allies under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros. The Turkish revolutionaries rebelled against this partitioning and against the Treaty of Sèvres, signed in 1920 by the Ottoman government. Most revolutionaries were former members of the Committee of Union and Progress.
Ali Fethi Okyar was a Turkish diplomat and politician, who also served as a military officer and diplomat during the last decade of the Ottoman Empire. He was also the second Prime Minister of Turkey (1924–1925) and the second Speaker of the Turkish Parliament after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The Liberal Republican Party was a political party founded by Fethi Okyar upon President Kemal Atatürk's request in the early years of the Turkish republic.
Turkish nationalism is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish languages and history, and a sense of pride in Turkey and Turkish people. While national consciousness in Turkish nation can be traced back centuries, nationalism has been a predominant determinant of Turkish attitudes mainly since the 20th century. Modern Turkish nationalism rose during the Tanzimat era. It also has a complicated relationship with Muslim identity, Pan-Turkism, and Turanism.
Atilla Yayla, is a Turkish political thinker and a proponent of liberal democracy. He is one of the founders of Association for Liberal Thinking in Turkey. He was Professor of Politics, Political Economy and Political Philosophy at Gazi University in Turkey. After his retirement from the public sector in 2009, Yayla became head of the International Relations department at Faculty of Commercial Sciences of Istanbul Commerce University until he was fired in 2015. In 2016 he was fired from his teaching post at Haliç University, after the University administration was charged with corruption and turned over to Istanbul University by The Council of Higher Education (YÖK). Yayla lost the case against Haliç University administration in 2019 and was ordered to pay the court fees.
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, and his writing is generally regarded as representing the economic expression of 19th-century liberalism up until the Great Depression and rise of Keynesianism in the 20th century. Historically, economic liberalism arose in response to feudalism and mercantilism.
Kemalist historiography is a narrative of history mainly based on a six-day speech delivered by Mustafa Kemal [Atatürk] in 1927, promoted by the political ideology of Kemalism, and influenced by Atatürk's cult of personality. It asserts that the Republic of Turkey represented a clean break with the Ottoman Empire, and that the Republican People's Party did not succeed the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP).
Atatürk's Principles consist of six principles that determine the pragmatic policies of Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which he put into effect under his administration. These principles came to be the fundamental pillars of the Republican People's Party, the founding and sole party of the country, on 13 May 1935. Later, the principles were added to the 1924 Constitution with a law enacted in 1937 and thus became the national ideology of Turkey with this practice.
Liberalism has been a notable ideology in Poland for hundreds of years. Polish liberalism emphasizes the preservation of democracy and opposition to authoritarianism. Liberalism was first developed in Poland as a response to the Polish–Lithuanian monarchy, and it continued to develop in response to the partition of Poland through the 19th century and Communist rule in the 20th century. Poland has officially been a liberal democracy since 1989, though its status has challenged as a result of illiberal reforms in the 2010s and 2020s.
Post-Kemalism, especially in Turkish academia and political debate, is a movement that argues that the source of Turkey's political and cultural problems, especially democratization, lies in the military-bureaucratic İttihadist and Kemalist ideology, and its basis is questioning Turkish official historiography. The post-Kemalist movement, which emerged after coup of 1980, became the center of Turkish historiography with the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party in the 2000s, and started to decline after the 2010s.
Kadın Gazetesi was a weekly publication targeting women besed in Istanbul, Turkey, between 1947 and 1979. It was started as a weekly newspaper, but became a weekly magazine from 1962. It adopted a Kemalist and feminist political stance. It is one of the earliest women's publications with a clear ideology in Turkey.
Halkçılık, sometimes translated as populism or folkism, is an idea influenced by narodnik and populism.
Islamokemalism, also known as Green Kemalism is a Turkish-Islamic synthesist ideology based on Kemalism, which either advocates for the society to be religious while keeping the state and its politics secular, or a complete replacement of secularism with Islamism in politics as well. It can also refer to religious Turks who love Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Republic of Turkey.
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