The Power of the People: Everyday Resistance and Dissent in the Making of Modern Turkey, 1923-38

After the Ottoman Empire fell, Turkey began a modernization process that included social, economic, cultural, and administrative changes. The Power of the People demonstrates how ordinary people shaped this change, focusing on daily interactions between the state and society and using untapped archival sources. The book shows how rural and urban people coped with state policies, local oppression, exploitation, and adverse conditions during the Great Depression, and how their daily practices and beliefs survived and outweighed the modernizing elite's projects. This book provides new insights into the social and historical origins of Turkey's backslide to conservative and Islamist politics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 417 pages
Publication date: 07 June 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Republic in 1923 under the leadership of Atatürk and his Republican People's Party, Turkey embarked on a comprehensive program of social, economic, cultural, and administrative modernization aimed at laying the foundations for modern-day Turkey. The Power of the People demonstrates that the ordinary people played a significant role in shaping the social and political change of Turkey, alongside Atatürk's vigorous push for modernization. By adopting a broader perspective on politics, focusing on daily interactions between the state and society, and utilizing untapped archival sources, Murat Metinsoy sheds light on how rural and urban individuals coped with the state policies, local oppression, exploitation, and adverse conditions brought about by the Great Depression through diverse everyday survival and resistance strategies. This book offers valuable insights into the social and historical origins of Turkey's backslide to conservative and Islamist politics, highlighting that the making of modern Turkey was a complex outcome of the intersection between modernization and the people's responses to it.

Introduction:
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Republic in 1923 marked a pivotal moment in the history of Turkey. Following the rule of Atatürk and his Republican People's Party, Turkey embarked on an ambitious program of social, economic, cultural, and administrative modernization aimed at building a modern nation-state. This period of transformation was characterized by significant efforts to modernize Turkey's infrastructure, education system, legal system, and social institutions.

The Power of the People:
The book "The Power of the People" by Murat Metinsoy explores the role of ordinary people in shaping the social and political change of Turkey during the early years of the Republic. Metinsoy adopts a broader conception of politics, focusing on daily interactions between the state and society and using untapped archival sources to shed light on the experiences of rural and urban populations. By examining the strategies employed by ordinary people to cope with state policies, local oppression, exploitation, and adverse conditions, Metinsoy demonstrates how the people's daily practices and beliefs survived and outweighed the modernizing elite's projects.

Rural and Urban Experiences:
Metinsoy's book highlights the diverse experiences of rural and urban populations in Turkey during the early years of the Republic. Rural communities, often marginalized and excluded from political and economic power, faced numerous challenges, including land reform, agricultural development, and access to basic services. Urban populations, on the other hand, experienced rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the emergence of a new middle class. However, urban dwellers also faced social and economic inequalities, including poverty, unemployment, and poor housing conditions.

Survival Strategies:
In response to these challenges, ordinary people employed a range of survival strategies to cope with the state policies, local oppression, exploitation, and adverse conditions. These strategies included resistance, collaboration, and adaptation. Resistance took various forms, including protests, strikes, and political activism. Collaboration was also common, as ordinary people worked together to improve their living conditions and access resources. Adaptation involved changing one's daily practices and beliefs to better cope with the changing circumstances.

The Making of Modern Turkey:
Metinsoy's book demonstrates that the making of modern Turkey was an outcome of the intersection between the modernization and the people's responses to it. The modernization programs implemented by the government aimed to bring Turkey into the modern world and promote economic development and social progress. However, these programs often ignored the needs and concerns of ordinary people, leading to resentment and opposition. The people's responses to these policies, in turn, shaped the course of Turkey's development and contributed to the country's backslide to conservative and Islamist politics.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the book "The Power of the People" by Murat Metinsoy provides valuable insights into the social and political change of Turkey during the early years of the Republic. By focusing on the experiences of ordinary people, Metinsoy demonstrates how the people's daily practices and beliefs survived and outweighed the modernizing elite's projects. The book highlights the diverse experiences of rural and urban populations and the strategies employed by ordinary people to cope with state policies, local oppression, exploitation, and adverse conditions. The making of modern Turkey was a complex outcome of the intersection between modernization and the people's responses to it, and this book sheds light on the social and historical origins of Turkey's backslide to conservative and Islamist politics.

Weight: 620g
Dimension: 152 x 230 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009012140