Identity disputes in occupied Istanbul: was Istanbul to become a Turkish city or remain a Turkish city?

Abstract

This article focuses on the Turkish public’s concerns regarding the future of Istanbul from when the Lausanne Conference began. On 30 October 1918, the Ottoman State, an ally of the defeated side in the First World War was itself defeated; the capital Istanbul was invaded in November 1918, and officially occupied on 16 March 1920. In October 1923, the occupation ended following the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne with the Turkish National Struggle that emerged in Anatolia. Yet the future of Istanbul had already been decided in the early stages of the Lausanne Conference. Although it was accepted that Istanbul would be returned to Turkish rule, certain decisions regarding the city caused concern among the Turkish public. Issues like the status of the Straits caused security concerns, and the opinion that the cosmopolitan structure of the city would continue because the Istanbul Rums were exempt from the population exchange was also one of the main concerns of the Turks. These concerns gave rise to questions including ‘Will Istanbul continue to be a Turkish city if it is returned to Turkish rule?’ In this article, the reasons for these questions raised by the public and proposals to solve these issues will be examined.