Abstract:

The dominant chronological periodization of the history of Modern Turkey is commonly based on the power time of the leaders. Such paternal period conceptualization giving priority to “statesmen”, brings the following question to the mind: “Is there a patrimonial sub- conscious in Turkish historiography?” That’s because not only in the area of political history, such approach also observable in social, economical and military history studies of Republican period can be a custom inherited from Ottoman studies giving priority to excessive power of sultans or central political authorities with reference to Weber’s concept of patrimonialism. Hence Turkish historiography has a rich literature emphasizing “powerful state tradition”. Based on the above mentioned argument, paternal and monolithic past perception is questioned in this article which is occasionally visible in historiography of modern Turkey.

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