Abstract:

Ittihat and Terakki, which left its mark on the last period of the Ottoman State, can be regarded as a reflection of the Ottoman Westernization efforts at home and the modern nation-state ideas that emerged from the outside with the effect of the French Revolution. The effects of the economic regression of the Ottoman Empire against the West are observed in the shaping of political thoughts as in the shaping of nationalism movements and economic system ideas that emerged in Europe. As a reaction to this real situation, they turned to National Economy, more accurately, protectionist economic policies. It is understood that the foreign professors working in the schools of War, Medicine and Civil Service had an important influence on the formation of these thoughts about the West. However, they did not have in-depth knowledge about the western thought and value system, which they accepted as reference, and could not get rid of the conflict between these values and traditional values. For this reason, despite all their idealistic concerns, the ideas they suggested could not go beyond being eclectic and pragmatic. In this study, the economic policies put forward in relation to the economic development of the country in the period of Ittihat and Terakki were examined and the political, social and philosophical issues were touched as they affect the economic policies. It is difficult to say that Ittihat and Terakki’s thoughts on economic policies matured until they came to power. Although there were supporters of liberal and national economics in terms of economic system preferences within the party, national economic policies were more effective in practice. The ideas about the socialist economy could not find a suitable ground to develop due to the society’s socio-economic structure. During the period of Ittihat and Terakki, different policies and practices were developed around daily needs and requirements rather than a single application in terms of economic management. In summary, pragmatic and eclectic path has been preferred along with the conjuncture, rather than a deep perspective on economic system and policy choices.

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