Ottomanism
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Search complete. 16 mentions across 6 episodes found for "Ottomanism".
Sep 26, 2026
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
And that's what happened in the Ottoman Empire.
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
The idea moved from Ottomanism, which was meant to be a kind of definition of a broad citizenship involving all sorts of peoples, to a much tighter one, which was a sort of Turkish definition.
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
You had to be Turkish, you had to be Islamic, you had to speak Turkish, and that actually excluded the Arabs, who were millions of people, as well as the Jews and, of course, all the Christians in the empire.
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
They were huge communities, including the Armenians.
6 MINS LATER
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
They also weren't happy with Syria.
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
They wanted northern Syria, but the French kept that.
Simon Sebag MontefioreGUEST
So that's why we see what's happening now with President Erdogan and this new Ottomanism that he is promoting, because actually all along the Turks felt they'd been done out of their imperial, their natural... imperial power.
Yascha MounkHOST
They have a form of imperial hangover, which in some ways is comparable to Russia and other countries around the world.
David FrumHOST
This great system of simplification was at every turn marked by atrocity, attempted genocide, the refusal of difference within the context of the Middle East.
David FrumHOST
We don't seem to find that so troubling because we have an implicit idea of who should be on top and who should not be on top.
David FrumHOST
And this implicit understanding, I think, adds some context to why false accusations against Israel and the Jews have gained so much hearing.
David FrumHOST
Because in a way, the Jews and the state of Israel stand out as the great exception to the trend of the Middle East.
David FrumHOST
It's a story and a thrilling story.
David FrumHOST
But you're not an argumentative historian.
David FrumHOST
You, you- your own ideas are sort of present in the background but are not in the foreground.
David FrumHOST
I wanna try assess what I think you're telling us.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
That's why I emphasize in this book pragmatism as another category of analysis, as well as indifference to nationalism.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
I do not automatically assume a Bulgarian would be a Bulgarian nationalist, or a Turk would be an Ottomanist or later Turkish nationalist.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
So, when you look at that time period, Bulgarians are very fragmented.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And when you look at the demographics, the province itself had about 2 million inhabitants, and Bulgarians, it was mostly like 50-50, it was like more than a million Bulgarians.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
So they-- That's why I emphasize in this book, like, pragmatism as another category of analysis, uh, as well as indifference to nationalism.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
Like, uh, I do not automatically assume a Bulgarian will be a Bulgarian nationalist or a Turk will be Ottoman, Ottomanist or later Turkish nationalist.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
Um, so, uh, yeah, when you look at that time period, those like very...
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
Bulgarians are very fragmented.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
It was like more than a million Bulgarians.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And, uh, I tried to, uh, draw attention to those diversity, like especially during the war, uh, because that's the other issue with the existing lit-literature.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
The Ottomanists typically end their work with the Russian-Ottoman War, and they talk about the reforms and all these changes and the Tanzimat, and then the Russians came, and they end, uh, their studies with that.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And then the, uh, historians of modern Bulgarian history, they start with the liberation.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
So they-- That's why I emphasize in this book, like, pragmatism as another category of analysis, a-as well as indifference to nationalism.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
Like, uh, I do not automatically assume a Bulgarian will be a Bulgarian nationalist or a Turk will be Ottoman, Ottomanist or later Turkish nationalist.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
Um, so, uh, yeah, when you look at that time period, those, like, very-- Bulgarians are very fragmented.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And, uh, when you look at the demographics, the province itself had about like, uh, uh, two million inhabitants, and Bulgarians, it was mostly like fifty-fifty.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
It was like more than a million Bulgarians.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And, uh, I tried to, uh, draw attention to those diversity, like, especially during the war, uh, because that's the other issue with the existing lit-literature.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
The Ottomanists typically end their work with the Russian-Ottoman War, and they talk about the reforms and all these changes and the Tanzimat, and then the Russians came, and they end, uh, their studies with that.
Mehmet ÇelikGUEST
And then the, uh, historians of modern Bulgarian history, they start with the liberation.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
So I think that that constituency in particular does contain different interpretations.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
I think Ottomanism as well, or visions that really highlight civilization as their key concept, also have different ways in which they approach these questions.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
And this, in a sense, predates a lot of the developments within the book as well.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
But I do start by looking at how this idea of the national interest actually came about or started to really crystallize in first the Ottoman Empire and then the early Republic.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
But of course, one thing that they do is to posit their own take on international order.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
So developing Islamic versions of some of these institutions, for instance, is something that they frequently have referred to.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
But I think that if we look at the development of Ottomanism and also the idea of the nation, I mean, the nation itself is arguably a product of the sort of development of liberalism as well, in a way.
Marc Sinan WinrowGUEST
I mean, if we look at the history of nationalism, it is sort of intertwined with the history of liberalism as well.