What is Kemalism?
Kemalism is the set of ideas behind the Turkish Republic founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal, later called Ataturk. After the First World War, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed. Kemal and his allies wanted a strong new nation-state that looked toward Europe, with law made by the people and not by religious or imperial rulers. Their programme is summed up as six arrows: republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism, secularism and reformism. Kemalism was a project run from the top, by an elite of officers and officials who thought they knew what was best for the country. It is still a loaded subject in Turkey, with admirers and critics.
Core beliefs
- Turkey should be a republic where sovereignty belongs to the nation.
- The state is built on a shared Turkish national identity.
- Law and education should be secular and modern, not religious.
- The state should lead economic development, especially in industry.
- The people form one body with no privileged classes.
- Reform must continue so that society keeps up with the modern world.
History
Kemal was an Ottoman officer who rose to fame at Gallipoli in 1915. When the Allies occupied parts of Anatolia after 1918, he led a national resistance and won the war of independence by 1922. The sultanate was ended in 1922 and the republic declared in October 1923. The caliphate was abolished in 1924. A string of reforms followed: new civil law based on the Swiss code, the Latin alphabet in 1928, the hat law, family names in 1934 and votes for women in national elections the same year. Kemal's Republican People's Party ruled alone until his death in 1938. The six arrows were adopted in the party programme in 1931 and the constitution in 1937. Turkey allowed other parties in 1946, and the opposition Democrat Party won in 1950. Military interventions in 1960, 1971 and 1980 were justified in part as defending Kemalist principles.
Variants
Under the early republic the creed was linked to the single party and was strict about secularism and national unity. Later, centre-left Kemalists stressed state planning, social reform and the left-of-centre tradition of the CHP. Nationalist Kemalists stressed Turkish identity and the army's role as guardian. Liberal Kemalists focused on democracy, women's rights and joining Europe. Ziya Gokalp's writings on Turkish nationalism and modern society were an important influence on the early ideas.
Criticisms
Religious conservatives argue that Kemalist secularism meant state control of religion and bans on public religious dress that limited believers' freedoms. Kurdish and other minority critics say the focus on one national identity led to the denial of their language and rights, and to harsh responses to revolts in the 1920s and 1930s. Liberals point to the one-party period and later military coups as undemocratic. Some historians argue the image of Ataturk grew into a personality cult. Admirers answer that the reforms gave women new rights, built schools and kept Turkey independent.
In practice
Many everyday features of Turkey come from the Kemalist period: the alphabet, the legal system, a national education system, state banks and factories, and the equality of women before the law. The army and the courts long saw themselves as guardians of the founding principles. Since the early 2000s the dominant politics has moved away from strict Kemalist secularism, although Ataturk is still honoured across the political spectrum. On the 12 axes it scores very strongly toward Secular on Religion and toward Central on Structure.