Introduction
This research examines internal conflicts within the Ottoman Empire during the era of its decline, focusing on the aspect of self-perception and the worldview. The purpose of the study is to examine how the philosophical and ideological level of the nation’s life forms political realities. The paper will include three parts: an overview of the historical background of the research subject, particular case studies of the internal conflicts within the Ottoman Empire, and an analysis of the state’s response to the nationalistic movements. By the chosen object of the study and its particular aspect, the sources necessary to supply the research fall into two categories. The first group relates to the history of the Ottoman Empire, providing factual information about historical events. The second group is concerned with the conceptual field and considers the ideas emerging at the time of the historical realities.
Main text
The primary sources of data for this research are Empires in world history by Burbank and Cooper, and The Ottoman Empire: A historical encyclopedia by Kia. Burbank and Cooper call the Ottomans’ state “empire at the crossroad,” referring to its emergence at the territory of the former Eastern Roman Empire, finding in the non-homogeneous social structure the roots of its multiculturalism (Burbank & Cooper, 2010, p. 127). Kia provides all the history of the Islamic civilization, including in his study the Ottoman Empire; thus, it helps to understand the place of the state in the longer historical line.
Evrensel and Minx, in their article “An institutional approach to the decline of the Ottoman Empire,” give additional details about the Ottoman state institutions, such as the system of millets, confessional groups within the state, and their coexistence. The article “The Ottoman Empire at the beginning of Tanzimat reforms” by Mazanec provides information about the state reforms of the Ottoman Empire. Yavuz and Erdagöz, in their paper “The tragedy of the Ottomans: Muslims in the Balkans and Armenians in Anatolia,” present the facts about nationalistic movements of the minorities within the empire. The article “Rising nationalism in the Balkans” by Lila gives additional details about the resistance movement.
The second group of sources relates to the social and philosophical ideas of the considered historical period, as well as general socio-political theories and cultural concepts. In the context of this research, the study Patterns of nationhood and saving the state in Turkey: Ottomanism, nationalism, and multiculturalism by Al are of particular importance. He discusses the idea of nationhood in the Ottoman Empire, which was manifested in the policy of Ottomanism. Examining the type of multiculturality of the empire, he states that it is distinct from the patterns of tolerance of contemporary Europe. Such a difference, he argues, was the important reason why the Western system of state administration could not prevent the Ottoman state from demise. Alkhateeb, in his Lost Islamic history, presents the same view, proved by the study of the process of the Westernization of the Ottoman Empire.
The ideas of nationalism, in its relation to multiculturalism, interculturalism, and transnationalism, are the subject of the study of Kastoriano, in his article “Multiculturalism and interculturalism: Redefining nationhood and solidarity.” He speaks of two opposite tendencies in multicultural societies, assimilationism, and the preservation of distinct national characteristics. Finally, Valk et al. in An Islamic worldview from Turkey: Religion in a modern, secular, and democratic state provides an insight into the philosophy of Islam, presenting the idea of tolerance as an essential characteristic of religious thought.
Conclusion
In summary, these two groups of sources complement each other, providing the base for the arguments, and ensuring completeness of evidence, its support by the proper theoretical framework. The literature on the subject of the internal conflicts within the Ottoman Empire is quite elaborated. Among the drawbacks, the only absence of focused investigation of the aspect of national self-perception and the worldview might be observed. It becomes the reason for the actual research, determined to fill the gap, at least to a possible extent, in presently existing knowledge, which further may be broadened and deepened by adding another evidence and theories.
References
Al, S. (2019). Patterns of nationhood and saving the state in Turkey: Ottomanism, nationalism and multiculturalism. Routledge.
Alkhateeb, F. (2017). Lost Islamic history. Hurst Publishers.
Burbank, J., & Cooper, F. (2010). Empires in world history: Power and the politics of difference. Princeton University Press.
Evrensel, A. Y., & Minx, T. (2017). An institutional approach to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Cogent Economics & Finance, 5(1). Web.
Kastoriano, R. (2018). Multiculturalism and interculturalism: Redefining nationhood and solidarity. Comparative Migration Studies, 6 (1). Web.
Kia, M. (2017). The Ottoman Empire (2 Volumes): A historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
Lila, F. (2017). Rising nationalism in the Balkans. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2(4), 31-35.
Mazanec, J. (2016). The Ottoman Empire at the beginning of Tanzimat reforms. Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, 2, 21-45.
Valk, J., Albayrak, H., & Selçuk, M. (2017). An Islamic worldview from Turkey: Religion in a modern, secular and semocratic state. Springer.
Yavuz, M. H., & Erdagöz, H. (2019). The tragedy of the Ottomans: Muslims in the Balkans and Armenians in Anatolia. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 39(3), 273-281. Web.