Turkey. Between democracy and dictatorship

 Turkey

Between democracy and dictatorship

As you may know, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won another another 5-years term as President of Turkey. He is seen as an autocratic ruler, some people even calling him a dictator. As Turkey will celebrate 100 years since the proclamation of the republic, I am going to talk about this century of transition from an empire ruled by a sultan to a republic which was meant to be governed democratically.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The Ottoman Empire in 1914

After the First World War, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Entente, a coalition of nations which included UK, France, USA and Italy. The victorious powers forced the Turks to sign the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, which partitioned Turkey between France, UK and Greece. 

Partition of the Ottoman Empire, according to the Treaty of Sevres

However, the agreement was very unpopular in Turkey and the republican factions denounced it. The leaders of this groups were Mustafa Kemal and Ismet Inonu, former veterans of the First World War. 

Mustafa Kemal ''Ataturk''

Ismet Inonu

Eventually, they emerged victorious, and forced the Entente to sign the Treaty of Lausanne, in 1923. The treaty recognized the borders of Turkey, which they have remained the same until this day, and, the legitimacy of the Ataturk government. After that, the Grand Assembly of Turkey proclaimed the Republic of Turkey on October 29 1923.

Now let's talk about Turkey's new ruler. Born in 1881 as Mustafa Kemal, because ''Ataturk'' is a nickname which means ''Father of the Turks'', in Thessaloniki, modern Greece. He belonged to a lower-middle-class family, and he received a military education, attending the prestigious Ottoman Military Academy. He had an incredible career, rising through the ranks of the army very quickly. Furthermore, he took part in the First World War where he proved his military skills, especially during the Battle of Gallipoli.

Ataturk during WW1

After the conflict, he emerged as the leader of the Turkish Nationalist Movement, established a republican government in Ankara and managed to expel the foreign occupiers out of Turkey. As a result, he became the first President of the newly formed Republic of Turkey, in 1923. After that, he implemented a series of wide-ranging reforms known as ''Kemalism'', whose aim was to modernize and secularize Turkey such as allowing women to vote, free primary education and the construction of factories and railways. He died in 1938 and he was followed by Ismet Inonu.