The Young Turks

by putinasusourus

So I just did an assignment on it and I had the hardest time finding decent articles for it and I was wondering if you guys had read any good articles or books on it because I would really like to learn more about it, other then the Armenian genocide. Most of the articles I found were on the genocide. And thanks in advance for any help you give.

armaduh

As the Young Turks are considered perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide it can be incredibly difficult to separate the movement from its actions within the incident. These books focus on the Ottoman movement (not solely Ottoman nationalism, though it should be noted that nationalism played a huge role in the creation of the Young Turks, likewise, the Armenian Genocide.) However, a few books that are not solely focused on the Genocide come to mind:

Kayali, Hasan. "Arabs and Young Turks: Ottomanism, Arabism, and Islamism in the Ottoman Empire, 1908-1918." (Berkeley: University of California Press.) 1997.

Hasan Kayalı is a Professor of History, specializing in Middle East in the Islamic period, and has published multiple works on the Ottoman Empire and nationalism.

The description of the book is: "Arabs and Young Turks provides a detailed study of Arab politics in the late Ottoman Empire as viewed from the imperial capital in Istanbul. In an analytical narrative of the Young Turk period (1908-1918) historian, Hasan Kayali discusses Arab concerns on the one hand and the policies of the Ottoman government toward the Arabs on the other. Kayali's novel use of documents from the Ottoman archives, as well as Arabic sources and Western and Central European documents, enables him to reassess conventional wisdom on this complex subject and to present an original appraisal of proto-nationalist ideologies as the longest-living Middle Eastern dynasty headed for collapse. He demonstrates the persistence and resilience of the supranational ideology of Islamism which overshadowed Arab and Turkish ethnic nationalism in this crucial transition period. Kayali's study reaches back to the nineteenth century and highlights both continuity and change in Arab-Turkish relations from the reign of Abdulhamid II to the constitutional period ushered in by the revolution of 1908."

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Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü. "Preparation for a Revolution: The Young Turks, 1902-1908. Studies in Middle Eastern History." (New York, New York: Oxford University Press.) 2001.

Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü is a Professor of Near Eastern Studies and studies Ottoman history and Turkish political life.

The description of the book is: "Preparation for a Revolution is the first book on the Young Turk Revolution to draw on both the extensive memoirs and papers of the Young Turks and on the extensive diplomatic archives around the world. The author has plumbed not only the Ottoman Archives but collected documents from archives in Bonn, Berlin, Jerusalem, London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Sofia, Tirana, Bern, Geneva, Sarajevo, Cairo, Stockholm, and Tokyo. Breaking new ground, Hanioglu describes in detail how practical considerations led the Young Turks to sacrifice or alter many of their goals for social transformation. He tells a story rich in character and plot, and reveals the many factions and competing intellectual trends that marked this tumultuous period at the end of the Ottoman Empire."

I hope these books help you, I was able to find an electronic copy of Kayali's book courtesy of the publisher. These works focus on the pre-revolution and early stages of the Young Turks movement. However, such detailed books often provided sources consulted in the works and those sources are invaluable; and often times lead one to authors who specialize in Young Turks or other regional Ottoman topics.

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Mods, if this is not an acceptable response please PM me so I can revise it. *EDIT: fixed a few spelling errors that slipped past me*