Turkish Democratization
A history of Turkish democratization.
Contents
Ottoman Empire
Following defeat in the First Balkan War, and as Kamil Pasha prepared for peace negotiations, a 1913 coup known as the Raid on the Sublime Porte saw the Committee of Union and Progress seize power in the Ottoman Empire. This government was led by the Three Pashas (اوچ پاشالر, or alt. Young Turk Triumvirate): Mehmed Talaat Pasha, Ismail Enver Pasha, and Ahmed Djemal Pasha. They entered World War 1 on the side of Germany and enacted a genocide against Coptic Greeks, Assyrians, Armenians, and Kurds.
The Armistice of Mudros ended hostilities on the eastern front of the war, and an occupation by British, French, and Italian armies began with the intent to partition the empire. In particular, France sought to establish a Little Entente surrounding Austria and Hungary. Britain sought to create a Jewish state. Over Anatolia specifically, in addition to the three partitioning powers, Russia and Greece (i.e., the Megali Idea) had staked a claim. The Assyrians and Armenians also made claims for self-determinism. The Russian claim and the Constantinople Agreement fell apart with the Russian Revolution.