Modern Turkey Research Articles

On the Classification of Ancient Greek Toponyms (based on the Material of Ancient Toponyms of the Cilician Plain)

The article is devoted to the methods of classification of ancient toponyms from the point of view of their external and internal structure. The first paragraph of the article gives a brief outline of the history of the issue. Despite the generally large number of works devoted to individual problems of ancient Greek toponymy or individual toponyms, only a few works in both domestic and foreign scientific historiography are devoted to the study of ancient Greek toponymy as a system from a philological point of view. The object of research in this article is the problems of creating a common word-formation-semantic classification of ancient Greek geographical names as a whole. The subject of the study is the ancient toponyms of the Cilician plain (Greek. Κιλικία πεδιάς) – low plains in the south of modern Turkey. Among the toponyms of Plain Cilicia, geographical names of ancient Greek and Latin origin (24 ancient Greek and 5 Latin names) were selected and analyzed for morphological structure and semantic features. Special attention is paid to the problems of etymologization of toponyms and the indication of centuries of fixation. The classification of ancient Greek toponyms, proposed in a 1965 article by the Swiss Hellenist Ernst Risch, is taken as a basis. The results of the study are presented in a table reflecting the four main word-formation types of ancient Greek toponyms in diachrony.

America and the Making of Modern Turkey: Science, Culture and Political Alliances

America and the Making of Modern Turkey: Science, Culture and Political Alliances

Everyday Life in extremis

Everyday Life <i>in extremis</i>

MODERNİTE’NİN SÖYLEMSEL ARAÇLARINI İFŞA EDEN BİR ROMAN: SAATLERİ AYARLAMA ENSTİTÜSÜ

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar tarafından yazılan Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü, Türkiye’nin modernleşme sürecini Osmanlı’nın son döneminden başlatıp romanın yazıldığı 1954’lere kadar getirerek ele alır. Bu süreçte Modernite’nin söylemsel oluşumlarla insanlara nasıl nüfuz ettiği, Modernite için önemli bir kavram olan “zaman”ın, yine Modernite’nin önemli kurumlarından olan enstitü aracılığıyla somutlaştırılması yolu ile işlenir. Bir ihtiyaçtan kaynaklanmadan kurulan Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü, kuruluşunu önce söylemsel bir zemine oturtarak meşruiyet kazanır. Böylece topluma nüfuz etmeye başlar. Çalışma süresi boyunca söylemsel oluşumların bir parçası olarak işleyen kurum, nihayet mevcut söylemin değişmesiyle lağvedilir. Romanın ironik dili bu noktada son derece önemlidir. Roman, insanın yaşarken idrak edemediği hâl ve durumları ironik bir dille ortaya koyarak resmettiği absürt tablo ile insana içinde yaşadığı gerçekliğe dışarıdan bakabilmesini sağlar.

Türkiye’de Yapılmış Medya ve İletişim Çalışmaları Doktora Tezlerinde Teknoloji ve İnsan İlişkisi Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

Bu çalışma Türkiye’de medya ve iletişim çalışmalarının müstakil bir alan olarak daha belirgin hale geldiği son yarım yüzyılda yapılmış doktora tezlerinde iletişim teknolojileri ve insan ilişkisinin nasıl kurulduğuna odaklanmaktadır. Bu anlamda YÖK veri tabanında ‘iletişim teknolojileri, yeni iletişim teknolojileri, medya ve iletişim’ anahtar kelimeleri etrafında yapılan arama sonucunda ulaşılan tezlerde genelde teknoloji, özelde iletişim teknolojileri ve insan ilişkisinin ele alınma biçimi araştırılmaktadır. Makalede farklı tarih, üniversite ve ana bilim dallarında yürütülmüş yirmi iki doktora tezinin ‘konu, amaç, kapsam ve yöntem’ başlıkları etrafında iletişim teknolojileri ve insan ilişkisinin ele alınma biçimlerine odaklanılarak Türkiye’de yürütülen medya ve iletişim çalışmalarına ilişkin bir değerlendirme yapılmaktadır. Nicel-nitel içerik analizi tekniği ile elde edilen bulgular sonucunda tezlerin hemen hepsinde iletişim teknolojileri ve insan ilişkilerinin farklı biçimlerde ele alındığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bununla birlikte değerlendirilen tezlerde insanın varoluşsal konumunun az sayıda tezde tartışılmaya açıldığı, buna karşılık yeni iletişim teknolojilerine ilişkin daha çok farklı kavram, kurum, sektör, süreç gibi alanlarda değişim ve etki boyutlarının çalışıldığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Localizing Western expertise: İhsan Doğramaci, Ş. Raşit Hatipoğlu, and the quest for scientific development in modern Turkey

This article discusses the dynamics between Western experts and local technocrats in Turkey in their quest for scientific development in the first decades of modern Turkey. Based on primary archival sources, it examines the work of İhsan Doğramacı (d. 2010) and Ş. Raşit Hatipoğlu (d. 1973), who led various projects in the fields of medical and agricultural development. İhsan Doğramacı, a prominent scholar in the medical sciences, established a close partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1950s and led the establishment of Hacettepe University in the 1960s. S. Raşit Hatipoğlu was an agricultural expert who worked closely with German scientists, was involved in developing the Higher Institute of Agriculture in Ankara in the 1930s and then served as minister of agriculture in the 1940s. The article notes that the transfer of Western science and institution-building required the appropriation of local knowledge, political and intellectual networks and a negotiation process that included global and national challenges.

TURKISM IN THE BUILDING OF THE TURKISH NATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SINO-TURKISH RELATIONS

The purpose of the research. The article discusses the process of nation building in Turkey. The influence of nation-building on the transition of the Ottoman Empire to a modern nation-state is analyzed. The purpose of the research is to identify the influence of Turkism in the construction of the Turkish nation, emerging in the second half of the 19th century, and its influence on Chinese-Turkish relations. As grounds, the influence of foreign Turkic intellectuals and Turkish intelligentsia on the construction of the Turkish nation is highlighted. Results. As a result of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that Turkism does not fundamentally differ from Western ideas about nation building. It should be noted that the genesis of Turkism became entirely possible thanks to the borrowing of the methods of Western social science and the adoption of the principle of language as the most important. In the conditions of development, Turkism tries to use the principles of Orientalism and linguistics. However, in modern Turkey, Turkism/Pan-Turkism has always shown a tendency towards extremism that transcends the boundaries of the nation-state. The author concludes that dissatisfaction with the nation-state and self-identification makes pan-Turkism the desire of many people in Turkey to go beyond the territorial nation-state. A number of examples from the history of foreign policy have emerged and Ankara's repeated gross interference in China's internal affairs for diplomatic purposes.

The Development of Psychological Ideas in Sufi sm: Application of Rumi’s Heritage in Psychological Consulting and Therapy in Turkey

The article discusses the issues on how Sufi sm can be related to modern Psychology, in particular, and on how the ideas of Jalaluddin Rumi are integrated into the psychological knowledge in modern Turkey and on how his works are applied in psychological counseling by modern Turkish psychologists. The article analyzes the main methods of applying Rumi's heritage such as Bibliotherapy and Sema (Dervish dance) as therapeutic methods both in group and individual therapy. Moreover, the paper provides a brief analysis of the seminal works by modern Turkish psychologists who use Sufi poem Masnavi and other texts by Rumi in therapy. As a conclusion, the article states that this approach can also be applied in Russian realities and is of interest to the modern Psychology in Russia for a number of reasons, including the growing interest in Sufi sm in the world; the presence of Sufi communities in Russia, which are actively developing, especially in the Caucasus region; active spread of Islamic Psychology in the world. There is little information on this topic in Russian, most of the papers are published in the Turkish language. Thus, studying the problem within this language will make it possible to fi ll the gaps in this area of research.

Хора в системе античного градостроительства

В Малой Азии (современной Турции) нами был найден пример типичного и хорошо изученного полиса Кианея в провинции Ликия. Выявлены основные принципы формирования полиса на основе центрального расположения главного города асти в окружении районных городов – демосов при сбалансированном развитии всей его территории – хоры. Представлен анализ различных типов малых поселений, дорожной структуры полиса и его внешних связей, подчеркивается важность расстояний и доступности между каждыми его элементами и центральным городом как факторами гармоничного и устойчивого развития. Дана оценка населения в эллинистический и римский периоды, предложена схема хоры типичного континентального полиса, позволяющая определить универсальные градостроительные принципы его формирования и использовать как инструмент для дальнейших исследований и применения в современном градостроительстве.

Turkey's Foreign Policy in Post‐Soviet Eurasia

AbstractThe central question explored in this article is what should motivate decision makers in Turkey when formulating the nation's strategies toward the Turkic countries of Eurasia. Should it be pan‐Islamism that advocates the unity of all Muslims in the world? Pan‐Turkism, based on the unity of Turkic peoples living across Eurasia? Pan‐Turanism, asserting the unity of Turanic people throughout the world? Or Atatürk's pragmatism, which advocated progressive Turkism? It would be unrealistic to revive objectives that, when tested by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, failed to prevent its collapse in 1918. What Turkey needs now are realistic policies based on common strategic interests that are geographical and relevant, and an active skilled leadership similar to Atatürk's, whose pragmatism provided the driving force behind the founding and survival of modern Turkey.

Diyanet Qur’ān Commentary Kur’an Yolu (Path of the Qur’ān)

Various Muslim commentators have contributed to Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr) from the Eastern to the Western regions of the Muslim world. Besides the Middle East, other regions were also influential in the literature and scholarship of tafsīr, such as Khorasan and Transoxiana. Another example is Istanbul, the libraries of which hold examples of most of the surviving tafsīr works and super-commentaries. We do not have an extensive body of scholarship on tafsīr knowledge/production in other parts of the Muslim world in English as such studies are of particular significance for the full history of tafsīr. For this reason, this article focuses on tafsīr production in modern Turkey with reference to the Diyanet (the Turkish Presidency for Religious Affairs) Qur’ān commentary Kur’an Yolu (Path of the Qur’ān). First, the article provides a brief overview of tafsīr production and culture in the Ottoman period (1299–1922) and in the period of the Republic of Turkey (since 1923) to contextualise the Diyanet commentary. Then, it analyses the Diyanet Qur’ān commentary Kur’an Yolu as official/institutional tafsīr, its major characteristics and methodology. A particular focus is devoted to the commentary’s Introduction (pp. 13-51). The article holds the view that, while the Qur’ān commentary Kur’an Yolu follows the classical mainstream Sunni framework and paradigm, it includes innovative perspectives, selections of alternative options along with critical engagement with the classical tafsīr and Islamic scholarship.

German pathology professor Philipp Schwartz: His enduring life from Frankfurt to Istanbul during the Second World War era: A “forgotten savior”

Many scientists were forced to leave Germany mostly under challenging circumstances as a result of the pressure applied to anti-Nazi German scientists and artists (mostly from the medical field) who were or were not of Jewish origin before World War II. They emigrated primarily to the United States, Switzerland, Turkey and South America. Two eminent pathology professors, namely Prof. Philipp Schwartz (from Frankfurt) and Prof. Sigfried Oberndorfer (from Munich) came to Istanbul University. They regarded Turkey as their second homeland. They were obliged to leave Germany due to mounting pressure. Schwartz settled in his father-in-law's house in Zurich. Schwartz was an organizer. He established the “Emergency Society of German Scholars Abroad” (Notgemeinschaft) to gather German scientists and artists in his situation. During the same period, the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wanted to apply reforms at Istanbul University to make it attain a Western structure. He invited Swiss pedagogue Prof. Malche and asked him to prepare a report for this purpose. Malche highlighted the need for Western experts is advised. Contact was made with Schwartz's organization in Switzerland. Numerous scientists specialized in almost all fields of science starting with medicine as well as many artists came to Istanbul University and other public institutions. Schwartz established the Pathology Department at Istanbul University while Prof. Oberndorfer established the Department of Experimental Pathology at the same university.Schwartz enabled pathology to gain a contemporary identity in Turkey. Pathology was mostly focused on autopsy during those years. Schwartz attached importance to the pathology training of medical students. He initiated clinico-pathology classes and encouraged surgeons to take a biopsy for surgical pathology. He produced numerous publications. Schwartz worked in Turkey for 19 years and then moved to the US. Thus, a generation of pathologists following the footsteps of Schwartz was raised in Turkey. Frankfurt University, in which he was obliged to leave, erected a stele in his memory at the entrance of the main hospital building. Schwartz thus became an unforgotten savior.

Стан “курдського питання” та процес його врегулювання в сучасній Туреччині: новітні тренди в англомовному науковому дискурсі

The article analyzes the main trends presented in the English-language scientific discourse of the 2000’s&nbsp;– 2020’s on the Kurdish issue in modern Turkey and the policy of the Turkish government aimed at its resolving. There is an attempt to systematize a huge array of English-language studies devoted to the Kurdish issue, published from the late 1990’s to 2021, in several problem-thematic areas. It is substantiated that modern English-language scientific discourse on the Kurdish issue in Turkey is represented by studies of M.&nbsp;Gunter, D.&nbsp;McDowall, W.&nbsp;Wyndham, N.&nbsp;Berlatsky, F.&nbsp;Bilgin, A.&nbsp;Sarihan, M.&nbsp;Gurses, D.&nbsp;Romano, K.&nbsp;Mckiernan, L.&nbsp;Riamei, M.&nbsp;Rubin, G.&nbsp;Stansfield, and M.&nbsp;Shareef. The discursive space for this historiography is mainly determined by: 1)&nbsp;conducting researches on the history of the population of the South-Eastern provinces of Turkey, the genesis of the Kurdish issue and its geopolitical dimension; 2)&nbsp;studies of socio-political processes in the South-Eastern provinces of Turkey, primarily the relationships between the government and the population of the region; 3)&nbsp;studies of socio-anthropological, ethnic, gender, humanitarian aspects of life of the population of the South-Eastern provinces of Turkey; 4)&nbsp;studies of the “Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process” of 2010’s, associated with a whole-scale change in the relations between the government and the people of the South-Eastern provinces in the direction of a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue, in particular in the context of fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria related to Turkey’s European integration aspirations.

Emotions in a diaspora’s interpretation of political developments in their place of origin: the case of Australian Armenians from Turkey

ABSTRACT This paper aims to investigate how emotions guide and shape diasporic communities’ interpretation/perception of socio-political developments in their place of origin. Based on our study of members of the Armenian diaspora who are originally from Turkey and who now live in Melbourne, Australia, we argue that these Armenians have formed their views on political issues under the influence of their emotional experiences, stemming from direct or indirect victimhood. The paper finds that several key emotions – fear, hate (and lack of hate), anticipation, and pessimism, inform and shape the Australian Armenian diaspora’s making sense of political developments in their place of origin, Turkey. The paper’s contribution to the relevant scholarship is twofold. First, it contributes to the studies on emotions in diasporas by examining how emotions shape individual members of a diaspora make sense of political developments in their place of origin. Second, it contributes to the literature on modern Turkey by studying Armenians from Turkey and their emotions on socio-political phenomena.

ISLAM, SECULARISM, AND NATIONALISM IN MODERN TURKEY: WHO IS A TURK?

Prikaz knjige: Cagaptay, Soner. 2006. Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk? London and New York: Routledge, 162 p.

Military-political Relations Between Russia and Turkey in the Context of the Kazakhstan Crisis of Winter 2021-2022

The article examines the current aspects of military-political relations between Russia and Turkey in the light of the events related to the protests and riots in Kazakhstan in January 2022. Building constructive relations with the Central Asian states, primarily Kazakhstan, is a significant vector of the foreign policy line of modern Turkey in the last decade (2012-2022). To implement this vector of its foreign policy, Turkey is working in various areas of interstate cooperation from trade and economic to military-political cooperation. The political crisis in Kazakhstan in January 2022 became a test for the multi-vector foreign policy of the state, due to the weak reaction of Turkey to these events. Russia, was able to respond promptly to the events in Kazakhstan by providing military and political support to President K.Zh. Tokayev. The study identifies Turkey's current interests in the Central Asian region and examines their compatibility with the aspirations of the post-Soviet states of Central Asia. It examines common interests, as well as differences in views between key players in the region. While Kazakhstan and Turkey have found a common language in trade, cultural exchange and arms trade, they have somewhat contradictory positions on political Islam and state sovereignty. Despite the growing influence of Turkey in the Central Asian region in economic and political relations, Russia is neutral about the strengthening of Turkey's position, taking into account the preservation of the dominant Russian presence in the structure of economic and political life of Kazakhstan.

Indigenous Responses to Protestant Missionaries: Educational Competition and Economic Development in Ottoman Turkey

AbstractIn recent years, a growing literature has claimed that there is a strong and consistent association between the presence of historic missionary societies outside Europe and positive long-term socio-economic outcomes. Yet, most of these studies fail to specify whether this finding is the result of missionary investment in human capital or of local actors stepping up their educational efforts in reaction to missionary activities. This article uses the example of Protestant missionary activity in Ottoman Turkey to separate these two mechanisms. The Ottoman state and the Armenian population responded to missionary incursions by modernizing and expanding their educational efforts. However, after the foundation of the Republic and of modern Turkey, most of the missionary schools were closed and the Armenian population was dramatically reduced. Using the blockage of direct effects, this study confirms the role that indirect effects or emulation has played in Ottoman Turkey. Results show that places with historically heightened competition between missionary schools and native educational institutions are more likely to have a higher income, as measured by night-time light density.

Religion and Tradition in Modern Turkey as Reflected in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow Novel: An Analysis of Social Deixis

The current study is dedicated to analyse the types of social deixis in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow Novel.Snow is a novel translated from the original Turkish-language novel entitled Kar. The reseacher is interested in the novel because it is telling about the clash of traditions, religion and modernization happening in Turkey In analysing the object of the study, the researcher applied deixis theory introduced by C.J. Fillmore which concerned with social types of deixis. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method, which describes the phenomena that occur in the novel through the language spoken by the participants based on the context. The researcher undertook three steps in collecting the data, (1)reading the whole chapters of the Snow novel thoroughly to find the data that spread out within the novel and also to fully understand the context of the story, (2)making a list of the deictic expressions that spread out throughout the novel, (3)the researcher collected the data into the table and classified the data based on the social deixis type. As a result, the researcher found 40 forms of deictic expression within five types of social deixis. The data that have been collected from the source of data will be analyzed in several stages as follows, (1)analyzing the deictic expressions in Snow novel, (2)classifying the data based on each kind of social deixis, (3)explaining the meaning of each kind of social deixis, (4)concluding. Out of five, only one type of social deixis used frquently by the author, i.e., ‘polite’. This is due to most of the participants do not have close relationship with each other.

Jedinstvo u mnogostrukosti / Unity in multiplexity

History testifies that Muslims are successful in diversity management. Islamic polity has never aimed to build a community exclusively for Muslims; instead, Muslims built an Open Civilization from Andalusia to India where people from different cultures lived together. Islamic law has taken adamiyyah (humanity regardless of religion) as the subject of Islamic law to which rights and duties are accorded. This tradition, originating from Abu Hanifa, has formed the foundation of a universalistic interpretation of Islam in the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. The present movement in the Muslim world from dictatorships towards democracy is a long-delayed outcome of Islamic political ideals and values, which give utmost priority to unity, freedom and justice. There is a strong universalistic Islamic political tradition, the last major example of which is the Ottoman Khilafah whose pluralistic legacy has yet to be claimed. Islamic unity in diversity or Open Civilization is rooted in the multiplex Islamic thought.

New Funerary Epigram from Kibyra

The Greek epigram published in this article was discovered in 2016 in modern Turkey, at Kibyra in southwest Asia Minor, during excavations under the directorship of Assoc. Prof. Şükrü Özüdoğru of the University of Burdur. Six lines preserving 3 elegiac distichs are carved on a stone that also features a relief showing a round shield with two greaves on either side. The epigram probably dates between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE and evokes the classical ideal of both physical and civic excellence in commemorating a man who died fighting as a citizen-soldier.