Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography

by M. Sükrü Hanioglu, M. Sükrü Hanioglu (Preface by)

Overview

A biography of the founder of modern Turkey that chronicles the ideas that shaped him

When Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first president of Turkey in 1923, he set about transforming his country into a secular republic where nationalism sanctified by science-and by the personality cult Atatürk created around himself-would reign supreme as the new religion. This book provides the first in-depth look at the intellectual life of the Turkish Republic's founder. In doing so, it frames him within the historical context of the turbulent age in which he lived, and explores the uneasy transition from the late Ottoman imperial order to the modern Turkish state through his life and ideas.

Shedding light on one of the most complex and enigmatic statesmen of the modern era, M. Sükrü Hanioglu takes readers from Atatürk's youth as a Muslim boy in the volatile ethnic cauldron of Macedonia, to his education in nonreligious and military schools, to his embrace of Turkish nationalism and the modernizing Young Turks movement. Who was this figure who sought glory as an ambitious young officer in World War I, defied the victorious Allies intent on partitioning the Turkish heartland, and defeated the last sultan? Hanioglu charts Atatürk's intellectual and ideological development at every stage of his life, demonstrating how he was profoundly influenced by the new ideas that were circulating in the sprawling Ottoman realm. He shows how Atatürk drew on a unique mix of scientism, materialism, social Darwinism, positivism, and other theories to fashion a grand utopian framework on which to build his new nation.

Now with a new preface, this book provides the first in-depth look at the intellectual life of the Turkish Republic's founder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691175829
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

M. Şükrü Hanioğlu is the Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His books include A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire (Princeton).

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables ix
A Note on Transliteration and Personal and Place Names xi
Turkish Pronunciation Guide xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Fin-de-siècle Salonica 8
Chapter 2. Das Volk in Waffen: The Formation of an Ottoman Officer 31
Chapter 3. The Scientism of the Young Turks 48
Chapter 4. From Wars to the Great War: A Hero Is Born 68
Chapter 5. Muslim Communism? The Turkish War of Independence 86
Chapter 6. The Secular Republic 129
Chapter 7. Nationalism and Kemalism 160
Chapter 8. Turkey and the West 199
Conclusion 226
Bibliography 233
Index 255

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Learned and deeply insightful, this elegantly written book offers a unique perspective on the founder of modern Turkey. Hanioglu's exploration of the evolving ideas of Atatürk, their provenance and context, and their impact on the policies of the Turkish Republic is a singular contribution to understanding Atatürk and his legacy. It is also a brilliant intellectual and cultural history of his age, and a veritable model of how the intertwined paths of politics and the history of ideas can be explored through the medium of biography."—Muhammad Qasim Zaman, author of The Ulama in Contemporary Islam

Editorial Reviews

"The definitive biography of Atatürk and an instant classic."

Digest of Middle East Studies

"This work provides the essential intellectual framework to understand Atatürk and the enormity of his accomplishments."

Choice

"Fresh and concise."

New Yorker

"M. Sükrü Hanioglu probes the bold and pragmatic mind of Atatürk in his new book. . . . Hanioglu provides us with a fresh way to look at Atatürk."

Saudi Gazette

"Atatürk does not lack for biographers, most of whose books are adulatory, but none has so thoroughly brought to life the ideological climate that molded the man as has Hanioğlu. And few have presented Atatürk with such objectivity."

Foreign Affairs

"A significant achievement, and indispensable for anyone seeking to understand the roots of modern Turkey."

Times Higher Education

"This book is aimed less at historians of the Ottoman Empire or of Turkey than at a wider public. It is a fine work of synthesis, fully accessible to non-specialists, which takes account of the complexity of the transitional period between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. Hanioglu's line of argument is perfectly clear and his account is easy to follow."—-Clélia Delbarre, booksandideas.net

From the Publisher

"[F]resh and concise."

New Yorker

Hanioglu (Near Eastern studies, Princeton Univ.; A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire) takes on the task of "demythologizing" Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. Cutting through years of writings filled with admiration for this charismatic leader and a popular sentiment close to hero worship, Hanioglu performs a skillfull analysis, focusing on the ideas and intellectual movements that shaped the statesman, rather than recounting Atatürk's personal life. An early education in secular and military schools, distrust of dogma, and adherence to scientism, labeling "religion as the major obstacle to human progress," created a president determined to make Turkey a modern, secular, Western-leaning nation (an effort still seen today in Turkey's bid to join the European Union). Hanioglu does a stellar job highlighting the scientific trends Atatürk used to validate his Turkish national ideal. Racial anthropology, historic linguistics, and other ideas of sometimes dubious merit were all tools to proclaim the superiority of the Turkish and bolster a country crushed by Western Europe in World War I. VERDICT This is an insightful intellectual biography of one of the 20th century's most fascinating statesmen. Highly recommended for scholars of Atatürk, Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East.—Veronica Arellano, California, MD

Library Journal