The Idea of Peace in Turkey

Abstract

This article seeks to provide an account of the ideas in Turkey, from the second half of the 19th century until the immediate aftermath of World War II, on international peace, dialogue and integration, based on two distinct concepts of peace. Peace is envisaged in one of these concepts via the notion of international conflict as the basic reality, an understanding which reduces peace to a state of affairs defined by the absence of war, thus devoid of a "positive" value. The other concept tends to perceive the very notion of international conflict as a possible extension of the absence of domestic peace; accordingly, peace should be the first principle, not conflict. The first concept does not take seriously the notion of peace as such, nor does it appear to have formed a discourse on peace. The second concept, on the other hand, is articulated in the article through ideas developed, respectively, by Namık Kemal, Prince Sabahaddin, Ahmed Rıza, Ziya Gökalp, Ahmet Hamdi Başar, and the Turkish federalists who were active for a short period following World War II.

Keywords

Turkey, Peace, War, Realism, Idealism.

Citation

Polat, Necati, “The Idea of Peace in Turkey”, International Relations, Volume 4, Issue 14 (Summer 2007), pp. 217-253.

Affiliations

• Necati Polat, Prof. Dr., Middle East Technical University, Department of International Relations