Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of ...
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This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.Less
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics ...
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This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.Less
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.
Karine V. Walther
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625393
- eISBN:
- 9781469625416
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625393.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Chapter 8 analyzes the culmination of the Eastern Question by analyzing American reactions to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 and President Woodrow Wilson’s failed plans for an American mandate ...
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Chapter 8 analyzes the culmination of the Eastern Question by analyzing American reactions to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 and President Woodrow Wilson’s failed plans for an American mandate over Armenia. It examines the role played by the United States in establishing the larger mandate system in the Middle East. The primary actors involved in pushing for such a system included political and diplomatic elites, such as Woodrow Wilson and Henry Morgenthau, who worked closely with American missionaries, including Josiah Strong and James Barton. It also analyzes how American support for the Balfour Declaration built on previous arguments about the Jewish Question in Europe to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In concludes with an analysis of the King-Crane Commission.Less
Chapter 8 analyzes the culmination of the Eastern Question by analyzing American reactions to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 and President Woodrow Wilson’s failed plans for an American mandate over Armenia. It examines the role played by the United States in establishing the larger mandate system in the Middle East. The primary actors involved in pushing for such a system included political and diplomatic elites, such as Woodrow Wilson and Henry Morgenthau, who worked closely with American missionaries, including Josiah Strong and James Barton. It also analyzes how American support for the Balfour Declaration built on previous arguments about the Jewish Question in Europe to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In concludes with an analysis of the King-Crane Commission.
Karine Walther
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625393
- eISBN:
- 9781469625416
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625393.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Americans increasingly came into contact with the Islamic world, U.S. diplomatic, cultural, political, and religious beliefs about Islam ...
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Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Americans increasingly came into contact with the Islamic world, U.S. diplomatic, cultural, political, and religious beliefs about Islam shaped their responses to world events. In Sacred Interests, Karine V. Walther excavates the deep history of American Islamophobia and Orientalism, showing how negative perceptions of Islam and Muslims shaped U.S. foreign relations from the Early Republic to the end of World War I. Beginning with the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Walther illuminates reactions to and involvement in the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, popularly called the Eastern Question, the efforts to protect Jews from Muslim authorities in Morocco, American colonial policies in the Philippines, and American attempts to aid Christians during the Armenian Genocide. Walther goes on to examine the American role in the peace negotiations after World War I, support for the Balfour Declaration, and the establishment of the mandate system in the Middle East. In her analysis, she examines the role played by both state and non-state actors, including American missionaries, religious organizations, journalists, businessmen, academics, policy elites, colonial officials and diplomats in shaping these interactions. She also analyzes how the so-called Jewish Question in Europe shaped American and European policies in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. The result is a vital exploration of the crucial role the United States played in the Islamic world during the long nineteenth century, an interaction that shaped a historical legacy that remains with us today.Less
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Americans increasingly came into contact with the Islamic world, U.S. diplomatic, cultural, political, and religious beliefs about Islam shaped their responses to world events. In Sacred Interests, Karine V. Walther excavates the deep history of American Islamophobia and Orientalism, showing how negative perceptions of Islam and Muslims shaped U.S. foreign relations from the Early Republic to the end of World War I. Beginning with the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Walther illuminates reactions to and involvement in the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, popularly called the Eastern Question, the efforts to protect Jews from Muslim authorities in Morocco, American colonial policies in the Philippines, and American attempts to aid Christians during the Armenian Genocide. Walther goes on to examine the American role in the peace negotiations after World War I, support for the Balfour Declaration, and the establishment of the mandate system in the Middle East. In her analysis, she examines the role played by both state and non-state actors, including American missionaries, religious organizations, journalists, businessmen, academics, policy elites, colonial officials and diplomats in shaping these interactions. She also analyzes how the so-called Jewish Question in Europe shaped American and European policies in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. The result is a vital exploration of the crucial role the United States played in the Islamic world during the long nineteenth century, an interaction that shaped a historical legacy that remains with us today.
Ryan Gingeras
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199561520
- eISBN:
- 9780191721076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199561520.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in ...
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This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in influencing the Ottoman government's decision to deport and murder large numbers of its non-Muslim citizens, the chapter underscores the state's concerns over the internal security of the region. It carefully points out the contradictions found within the state's decision for large numbers of these three groups, as well as the many acts of local resistance to this policy. Most accounts of the Armenian Genocide do not pay close attention to the consequences of the return of thousands of Armenians to the South Marmara after 1918, something which is dicussed in the latter part of this chapter.Less
This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in influencing the Ottoman government's decision to deport and murder large numbers of its non-Muslim citizens, the chapter underscores the state's concerns over the internal security of the region. It carefully points out the contradictions found within the state's decision for large numbers of these three groups, as well as the many acts of local resistance to this policy. Most accounts of the Armenian Genocide do not pay close attention to the consequences of the return of thousands of Armenians to the South Marmara after 1918, something which is dicussed in the latter part of this chapter.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted ...
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Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.Less
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.
Fatma Muge Gocek
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199334209
- eISBN:
- 9780199395774
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199334209.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
To this day, the Turkish state officially denies that what happened to the Armenians in 1915 was genocide, while the Western scholarly community is almost in full agreement that what happened to the ...
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To this day, the Turkish state officially denies that what happened to the Armenians in 1915 was genocide, while the Western scholarly community is almost in full agreement that what happened to the forcefully deported Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 was genocide, in which approximately 800,000 to 1.5 million Armenians perished. This book studies why denial of collective violence persists in Turkish state and society. To capture the negotiation of meaning, it undertakes a qualitative analysis of 356 contemporaneous memoirs penned by 307 authors in addition to secondary sources, journals, and newspapers. The main theoretical argument is that denial is a multilayered, historical process consisting of the interaction of the structural elements of collective violence and situated modernity with the emotional elements of collective emotions and legitimating events. In this empirical case, denial emerged through four stages: (1) the initial imperial denial of origins of violence commenced in 1789 with the advent of systematic modernity until 1907; (2) the Young Turk denial of the act of violence lasted for a decade from 1908 to 1918; (3) early republican denial of actors of violence took place from 1919 to 1973; and (4) the late republican denial of responsibility for violence started in 1974 and was still present in 2009 when the book was completed.Less
To this day, the Turkish state officially denies that what happened to the Armenians in 1915 was genocide, while the Western scholarly community is almost in full agreement that what happened to the forcefully deported Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 was genocide, in which approximately 800,000 to 1.5 million Armenians perished. This book studies why denial of collective violence persists in Turkish state and society. To capture the negotiation of meaning, it undertakes a qualitative analysis of 356 contemporaneous memoirs penned by 307 authors in addition to secondary sources, journals, and newspapers. The main theoretical argument is that denial is a multilayered, historical process consisting of the interaction of the structural elements of collective violence and situated modernity with the emotional elements of collective emotions and legitimating events. In this empirical case, denial emerged through four stages: (1) the initial imperial denial of origins of violence commenced in 1789 with the advent of systematic modernity until 1907; (2) the Young Turk denial of the act of violence lasted for a decade from 1908 to 1918; (3) early republican denial of actors of violence took place from 1919 to 1973; and (4) the late republican denial of responsibility for violence started in 1974 and was still present in 2009 when the book was completed.
Jennifer M. Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501730245
- eISBN:
- 9781501730252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501730245.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter analyzes the content of, and changes and continuities in, Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide between 1950 and the early 1990s. While the genocide was silenced in the decades ...
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This chapter analyzes the content of, and changes and continuities in, Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide between 1950 and the early 1990s. While the genocide was silenced in the decades after World War II, the silence came under increasing international pressure in the 1970s. Armenian terrorism, combined with increased international recognition of the genocide, eventually led Turkish officials to end the silence about the genocide. Starting in 1981, the state’s narrative shifted from silencing and denying the genocide to an actively defended and articulated position that relativized the violence and presented an alternative account of what had happened. This shift also involved substantial continuity, particularly in the denial of official responsibility for the deaths of Armenians. The net effect of these changes involved the strengthening of official denial of the genocide, alongside a limited acknowledgment that something had happened to Ottoman Armenians.Less
This chapter analyzes the content of, and changes and continuities in, Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide between 1950 and the early 1990s. While the genocide was silenced in the decades after World War II, the silence came under increasing international pressure in the 1970s. Armenian terrorism, combined with increased international recognition of the genocide, eventually led Turkish officials to end the silence about the genocide. Starting in 1981, the state’s narrative shifted from silencing and denying the genocide to an actively defended and articulated position that relativized the violence and presented an alternative account of what had happened. This shift also involved substantial continuity, particularly in the denial of official responsibility for the deaths of Armenians. The net effect of these changes involved the strengthening of official denial of the genocide, alongside a limited acknowledgment that something had happened to Ottoman Armenians.
Jennifer M. Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501730245
- eISBN:
- 9781501730252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501730245.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter analyzes Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide over the period from 1994 to 2008. In the mid-1990s, subtle changes emerged in the tone and substance of the state’s narrative. ...
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This chapter analyzes Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide over the period from 1994 to 2008. In the mid-1990s, subtle changes emerged in the tone and substance of the state’s narrative. Overall, however, despite major structural changes at the international level – including the end of the Cold War and Armenian independence – and the beginnings of domestic challenges to the state’s thesis, the content of the narrative was remarkably stable. These continuities stemmed in particular from feedback effects that reinforced domestic constraints on change. Beginning in 2001, the narrative shifted more substantially, coming to include a limited acknowledgment of Armenian deaths and suffering, while rationalizing these facts and continuing to reject the label “genocide.” These changes were made primarily in response to increased international recognition of the genocide and the broadening of domestic contestation questioning the official narrative, and reflected officials’ continued territorial and identity concerns.Less
This chapter analyzes Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide over the period from 1994 to 2008. In the mid-1990s, subtle changes emerged in the tone and substance of the state’s narrative. Overall, however, despite major structural changes at the international level – including the end of the Cold War and Armenian independence – and the beginnings of domestic challenges to the state’s thesis, the content of the narrative was remarkably stable. These continuities stemmed in particular from feedback effects that reinforced domestic constraints on change. Beginning in 2001, the narrative shifted more substantially, coming to include a limited acknowledgment of Armenian deaths and suffering, while rationalizing these facts and continuing to reject the label “genocide.” These changes were made primarily in response to increased international recognition of the genocide and the broadening of domestic contestation questioning the official narrative, and reflected officials’ continued territorial and identity concerns.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the ...
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This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.Less
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.
Roxana Ferllini
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061603
- eISBN:
- 9780813051222
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061603.003.0017
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Today, Armenians across the globe honor the cultural remembrance of the Armenian genocide. This is significant given that the victims of this historical event remain largely forgotten by the ...
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Today, Armenians across the globe honor the cultural remembrance of the Armenian genocide. This is significant given that the victims of this historical event remain largely forgotten by the international community, including the media and political establishments. Seeking to achieve transitional justice, the Armenian community maintains a policy of formal recognition of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. As this chapter shows, the framework of a collective Armenian memory has provided structure and focus for the forensic anthropological work conducted at Ras al-Ain in Syria in 2007. While investigations focused on the exhumations of human remains of those who had perished due to forced deportation, collaboration with the Armenian community proved invaluable. Community members shared their recollections of the events that had transpired at the site, and the forensic evidence in turn provided a sense of closure to the community.Less
Today, Armenians across the globe honor the cultural remembrance of the Armenian genocide. This is significant given that the victims of this historical event remain largely forgotten by the international community, including the media and political establishments. Seeking to achieve transitional justice, the Armenian community maintains a policy of formal recognition of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. As this chapter shows, the framework of a collective Armenian memory has provided structure and focus for the forensic anthropological work conducted at Ras al-Ain in Syria in 2007. While investigations focused on the exhumations of human remains of those who had perished due to forced deportation, collaboration with the Armenian community proved invaluable. Community members shared their recollections of the events that had transpired at the site, and the forensic evidence in turn provided a sense of closure to the community.
Ronald Grigor Suny, Fatma Müge Göçek, and Norman M. Naimark (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195393743
- eISBN:
- 9780190254315
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195393743.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
One hundred years after the deportations and mass murder of Armenians, Assyrians, and other peoples in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, the history of the Armenian Genocide remains a victim of ...
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One hundred years after the deportations and mass murder of Armenians, Assyrians, and other peoples in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, the history of the Armenian Genocide remains a victim of historical distortion, state-sponsored falsification, and the deep divisions between Armenians and Turks. This book presents a reconstruction of what happened and why. While the word “genocide” still divides communities, there is no longer any serious doubt that the Young Turk government ordered and carried out in 1915–1916 mass deportations and massacres targeted toward designated ethnoreligious groups. This volume includes reviews of the historical debates surrounding these events, portraits of the perpetrators, detailed accounts of the massacres themselves, and reflections on the broader implications of what happened then on what might happen now. Here history is not only the stories that we tell about the past but the foundation on which might be built new understandings of the present and possible futures.Less
One hundred years after the deportations and mass murder of Armenians, Assyrians, and other peoples in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, the history of the Armenian Genocide remains a victim of historical distortion, state-sponsored falsification, and the deep divisions between Armenians and Turks. This book presents a reconstruction of what happened and why. While the word “genocide” still divides communities, there is no longer any serious doubt that the Young Turk government ordered and carried out in 1915–1916 mass deportations and massacres targeted toward designated ethnoreligious groups. This volume includes reviews of the historical debates surrounding these events, portraits of the perpetrators, detailed accounts of the massacres themselves, and reflections on the broader implications of what happened then on what might happen now. Here history is not only the stories that we tell about the past but the foundation on which might be built new understandings of the present and possible futures.
Ryan Gingeras
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199676071
- eISBN:
- 9780191755576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199676071.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter surveys the Ottoman government’s deportation and resettlement policies in Anatolia during the First World War. While Young Turk officials would later claim that military and political ...
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This chapter surveys the Ottoman government’s deportation and resettlement policies in Anatolia during the First World War. While Young Turk officials would later claim that military and political imperatives drove Istanbul to internally exile large numbers of its citizens, it is clear that preexisting internal sociopolitical conditions played a defining role in inspiring the CUP’s plans to impose a policy of tehcir or deportation. Istanbul’s policies, which included mass transfers of civilian populations, the seizure of private property, and the massacre of innocent citizens, had devastating consequences for the empire’s Armenian population. The mass eviction and death of Armenians and many other groups helped to poison both international and domestic opinion against the empire and led to bitter sectarian divides within Ottoman society.Less
This chapter surveys the Ottoman government’s deportation and resettlement policies in Anatolia during the First World War. While Young Turk officials would later claim that military and political imperatives drove Istanbul to internally exile large numbers of its citizens, it is clear that preexisting internal sociopolitical conditions played a defining role in inspiring the CUP’s plans to impose a policy of tehcir or deportation. Istanbul’s policies, which included mass transfers of civilian populations, the seizure of private property, and the massacre of innocent citizens, had devastating consequences for the empire’s Armenian population. The mass eviction and death of Armenians and many other groups helped to poison both international and domestic opinion against the empire and led to bitter sectarian divides within Ottoman society.
Jennifer M. Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501730245
- eISBN:
- 9781501730252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501730245.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter reviews the history and historiography of the Armenian Genocide, and outlines the trajectory of Turkey’s narrative of the “Armenian question” since its initial formulation in the wake of ...
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This chapter reviews the history and historiography of the Armenian Genocide, and outlines the trajectory of Turkey’s narrative of the “Armenian question” since its initial formulation in the wake of the genocide. Over time, Turkey has experienced sustained international pressures to acknowledge the organized and intentional nature of this violence. Since the early 1990s, domestic contestation from within Turkish society has also challenged the legitimacy of the state’s narrative. While Turkish officials have resisted acknowledging the genocidal nature of this violence, elements of Turkey’s narrative have changed. Specifically, the narrative has changed three times since 1950, each time after international pressures had heightened scrutiny of the state’s position. Crucially, however, when and how officials responded to accumulated pressures were shaped by concerns about threats to territorial integrity and national identity, and feedback effects from institutionalized power bases within Turkey.Less
This chapter reviews the history and historiography of the Armenian Genocide, and outlines the trajectory of Turkey’s narrative of the “Armenian question” since its initial formulation in the wake of the genocide. Over time, Turkey has experienced sustained international pressures to acknowledge the organized and intentional nature of this violence. Since the early 1990s, domestic contestation from within Turkish society has also challenged the legitimacy of the state’s narrative. While Turkish officials have resisted acknowledging the genocidal nature of this violence, elements of Turkey’s narrative have changed. Specifically, the narrative has changed three times since 1950, each time after international pressures had heightened scrutiny of the state’s position. Crucially, however, when and how officials responded to accumulated pressures were shaped by concerns about threats to territorial integrity and national identity, and feedback effects from institutionalized power bases within Turkey.
Hertha D. Sweet Wong
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469640709
- eISBN:
- 9781469640723
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469640709.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
This chapter discusses Peter Najarian’s illustrated memoirs, autobiographical narratives in book format that incorporate drawings, paintings, and photographs: Daughters of Memory, The Great American ...
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This chapter discusses Peter Najarian’s illustrated memoirs, autobiographical narratives in book format that incorporate drawings, paintings, and photographs: Daughters of Memory, The Great American Loneliness, and The Artist and His Mother. The son of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Najarian filters the story of his Armenian American family and community through Western art and literature, depicting his legacy of transgenerational trauma. In his assemblage of texts and images, Najarian grapples with the complex issues of representation, memory, history, and subjectivity, forcing readers to look anew.Less
This chapter discusses Peter Najarian’s illustrated memoirs, autobiographical narratives in book format that incorporate drawings, paintings, and photographs: Daughters of Memory, The Great American Loneliness, and The Artist and His Mother. The son of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Najarian filters the story of his Armenian American family and community through Western art and literature, depicting his legacy of transgenerational trauma. In his assemblage of texts and images, Najarian grapples with the complex issues of representation, memory, history, and subjectivity, forcing readers to look anew.
Michael Bohlander and Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199332304
- eISBN:
- 9780190259815
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199332304.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The Armenian Genocide, which culminated in the first two decades of the 20th century, has long been a highly controversial topic as far as the new Turkish state is concerned. Turkey has traditionally ...
More
The Armenian Genocide, which culminated in the first two decades of the 20th century, has long been a highly controversial topic as far as the new Turkish state is concerned. Turkey has traditionally either denied that it has inherited any of the obligations of the Ottoman Empire arising from those times, or it has claimed that the undisputed killing of over one million of Armenians, the deportations, and the expropriations or the survivors were not acts of genocide but the unfortunate consequences or collateral effects of war. However, it has been determined that Turkey has inherited the obligations under international law from the Ottoman Empire as the continuing state. This chapter focuses on Turkey's treatment of the properties left behind by the Armenians. It discusses how Turkey reneged on the initial promise of trusteeship and proceeded to fully confiscate or redistribute many of the properties and proceeded to transfer revenue from sales to the state coffers. It also suggests that Turkey, more precisely its officials, may be liable to a potential charge of persecution as a crime against humanity, for the systematic and/or widespread denial of the property rights.Less
The Armenian Genocide, which culminated in the first two decades of the 20th century, has long been a highly controversial topic as far as the new Turkish state is concerned. Turkey has traditionally either denied that it has inherited any of the obligations of the Ottoman Empire arising from those times, or it has claimed that the undisputed killing of over one million of Armenians, the deportations, and the expropriations or the survivors were not acts of genocide but the unfortunate consequences or collateral effects of war. However, it has been determined that Turkey has inherited the obligations under international law from the Ottoman Empire as the continuing state. This chapter focuses on Turkey's treatment of the properties left behind by the Armenians. It discusses how Turkey reneged on the initial promise of trusteeship and proceeded to fully confiscate or redistribute many of the properties and proceeded to transfer revenue from sales to the state coffers. It also suggests that Turkey, more precisely its officials, may be liable to a potential charge of persecution as a crime against humanity, for the systematic and/or widespread denial of the property rights.
Gregory S. Gordon
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190612689
- eISBN:
- 9780190612719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190612689.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology, Public International Law
Chapter 1 limns the chronology of speech and government-sponsored mass violence over the centuries. After an overview of pre-twentieth century hate rhetoric, it focuses on Ottoman propaganda in ...
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Chapter 1 limns the chronology of speech and government-sponsored mass violence over the centuries. After an overview of pre-twentieth century hate rhetoric, it focuses on Ottoman propaganda in relation to the Armenian Genocide. It then describes the Nazi hate speech campaign against the Jews, the archetypal modern template for mass murder agitprop. It then moves to the post–Cold War period and examines the role of speech in the 1990s atrocities committed in the Balkans and Rwanda. The chapter concludes by examining more recent instances of atrocity rhetoric connected to mass crimes: postelection violence in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire; extremist Buddhist attacks against Muslims in Myanmar; the Islamic State’s genocidal violence against the Yazidis; and Dinka versus Nuer bloodshed in South Sudan. In tracing this history, two overarching rhetorical strategies become apparent—exclusion (defaming and dehumanizing the out-group) and threat (warning that the out-group threatens violence so must be eliminated first).Less
Chapter 1 limns the chronology of speech and government-sponsored mass violence over the centuries. After an overview of pre-twentieth century hate rhetoric, it focuses on Ottoman propaganda in relation to the Armenian Genocide. It then describes the Nazi hate speech campaign against the Jews, the archetypal modern template for mass murder agitprop. It then moves to the post–Cold War period and examines the role of speech in the 1990s atrocities committed in the Balkans and Rwanda. The chapter concludes by examining more recent instances of atrocity rhetoric connected to mass crimes: postelection violence in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire; extremist Buddhist attacks against Muslims in Myanmar; the Islamic State’s genocidal violence against the Yazidis; and Dinka versus Nuer bloodshed in South Sudan. In tracing this history, two overarching rhetorical strategies become apparent—exclusion (defaming and dehumanizing the out-group) and threat (warning that the out-group threatens violence so must be eliminated first).
Jennifer M. Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501730245
- eISBN:
- 9781501730252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501730245.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter introduces the book’s core questions, summarizes the stakes of inquiry, introduces the two narratives analyzed in the book, outlines the central argument, and situates this study in ...
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This chapter introduces the book’s core questions, summarizes the stakes of inquiry, introduces the two narratives analyzed in the book, outlines the central argument, and situates this study in relation to existing scholarship on memory, transitional justice, and international norms. Given the challenges of reckoning with the past, what are the sources of continuity in states’ narratives of dark pasts, and when and why do states choose to change such narratives? To answer these questions, this book analyzes the trajectories over the past sixty years of Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide and Japan’s narrative of the Nanjing Massacre and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Extrapolating from this analysis, the book argues that international pressures increase the likelihood of change in official narratives of dark pasts, while domestic considerations determine the content of such change.Less
This chapter introduces the book’s core questions, summarizes the stakes of inquiry, introduces the two narratives analyzed in the book, outlines the central argument, and situates this study in relation to existing scholarship on memory, transitional justice, and international norms. Given the challenges of reckoning with the past, what are the sources of continuity in states’ narratives of dark pasts, and when and why do states choose to change such narratives? To answer these questions, this book analyzes the trajectories over the past sixty years of Turkey’s narrative of the Armenian Genocide and Japan’s narrative of the Nanjing Massacre and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Extrapolating from this analysis, the book argues that international pressures increase the likelihood of change in official narratives of dark pasts, while domestic considerations determine the content of such change.
Katherine Graney
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190055080
- eISBN:
- 9780190055127
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190055080.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics, European Union
This chapter examines the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It first discusses the Caucasus as a unique region within the Russian and Soviet empires, seen as those entities’ “own ...
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This chapter examines the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It first discusses the Caucasus as a unique region within the Russian and Soviet empires, seen as those entities’ “own Orient,” and the place where the border into the “non-Christian” world is breached. Georgia’s strong desire for Europeanization is contrasted with Armenia’s more moderate pursuit, despite the two sharing similar levels of “intrinsic” Europeanization. Georgia’s peculiarly Euro-oriented elite, and Armenia’s historical and contemporary reliance on Russia as a protector of its survival and sovereignty, are invoked to explain this difference. Azerbaijan, a resource-rich state with the unique claim to be “the first democracy in the Muslim World,” has combined a nonaligned political and security policy with a strong effort to be identified as part of the European cultural-civilizational sphere.Less
This chapter examines the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It first discusses the Caucasus as a unique region within the Russian and Soviet empires, seen as those entities’ “own Orient,” and the place where the border into the “non-Christian” world is breached. Georgia’s strong desire for Europeanization is contrasted with Armenia’s more moderate pursuit, despite the two sharing similar levels of “intrinsic” Europeanization. Georgia’s peculiarly Euro-oriented elite, and Armenia’s historical and contemporary reliance on Russia as a protector of its survival and sovereignty, are invoked to explain this difference. Azerbaijan, a resource-rich state with the unique claim to be “the first democracy in the Muslim World,” has combined a nonaligned political and security policy with a strong effort to be identified as part of the European cultural-civilizational sphere.
Jennifer M. Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501730245
- eISBN:
- 9781501730252
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501730245.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
Over the past two decades, many states have been called on to recognize and apologize for historic wrongs. In response, some states have apologized for past crimes, while others continue to silence, ...
More
Over the past two decades, many states have been called on to recognize and apologize for historic wrongs. In response, some states have apologized for past crimes, while others continue to silence, deny, and relativize dark pasts. What explains this tremendous variation? When and why do states change the stories they tell about dark pasts? Based on a comparative analysis of the trajectories of Turkey’s narrative of the 1915-17 Armenian Genocide and Japan’s narrative of the 1937-8 Nanjing Massacre, Dark Pasts argues that international pressures increase the likelihood of change in official narratives of dark pasts, but domestic considerations determine the content of such change. Rather than simply changing with the passage of time, persistence, or rightness, official narratives of dark pasts are shaped by interactions between domestic and international politics. Combining historical richness and analytical rigor, Dark Pasts unravels the complex processes through which such narratives are constructed and contested, and offers an innovative way to analyze the content of and changes in historical memories. The book sheds light on the persistent presence of the past and reveals how domestic politics functions as a filter that shapes the ways in which states’ narratives change – or don’t – over time.Less
Over the past two decades, many states have been called on to recognize and apologize for historic wrongs. In response, some states have apologized for past crimes, while others continue to silence, deny, and relativize dark pasts. What explains this tremendous variation? When and why do states change the stories they tell about dark pasts? Based on a comparative analysis of the trajectories of Turkey’s narrative of the 1915-17 Armenian Genocide and Japan’s narrative of the 1937-8 Nanjing Massacre, Dark Pasts argues that international pressures increase the likelihood of change in official narratives of dark pasts, but domestic considerations determine the content of such change. Rather than simply changing with the passage of time, persistence, or rightness, official narratives of dark pasts are shaped by interactions between domestic and international politics. Combining historical richness and analytical rigor, Dark Pasts unravels the complex processes through which such narratives are constructed and contested, and offers an innovative way to analyze the content of and changes in historical memories. The book sheds light on the persistent presence of the past and reveals how domestic politics functions as a filter that shapes the ways in which states’ narratives change – or don’t – over time.
