Kemalism

Kemalism is the set of political, social and economic principles associated with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. It aimed to turn the remains of the multiethnic Ottoman Empire into a modern, secular nation-state modeled in many ways on Western Europe. Its principles are usually summarized as the Six Arrows: republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism, secularism and reformism (often translated as revolutionism). Kemalism is less a fixed doctrine than a program of top-down modernization, and its supporters and critics have long debated how it should be interpreted.

Kemalism grew out of the Turkish national movement that fought the occupation and partition of Anatolia after the First World War. The Republic was proclaimed in 1923, and the caliphate was abolished in 1924. In the following years the government closed religious courts, adopted civil, penal and commercial codes based on European models, replaced the Arabic script with a Latin alphabet in 1928, and introduced surnames by law in 1934. Women gained the right to vote in national elections in 1934. The ruling Republican People's Party (CHP) adopted the Six Arrows in 1931, and they were written into the constitution in 1937. Atatürk died in 1938 and was succeeded by İsmet İnönü. Turkey moved to multiparty politics in 1946, and the Democrat Party won the 1950 election. For decades most major parties professed loyalty to Atatürk's principles.

Left-leaning Kemalists stress statism, social reform and anti-imperialism, and the CHP has at times described itself as social democratic. Nationalist Kemalists stress territorial unity and Turkish identity. A strongly secularist current, influential in the military and judiciary, saw these institutions as guardians of the republic. Some liberal interpreters emphasize the republican and modernizing elements while rejecting the authoritarian methods of the early era.

Critics argue that Kemalist modernization was imposed by an urban elite and the state with little popular consent, and that one-party rule limited political freedom in its early decades. Religious conservatives argue that its secularism restricted religious expression, for example through limits on religious dress in public institutions. Kurdish and other minority critics argue that its emphasis on a single Turkish identity led to policies of assimilation and the harsh suppression of revolts such as the Sheikh Said rebellion of 1925 and the Dersim uprising of 1937 to 1938. Liberals also criticize the military's interventions in politics in the name of Kemalism. Supporters reply that the reforms built a modern state, expanded education and women's rights, and kept Turkey independent.

Kemalism shaped Turkey's legal system, education, language and state institutions. The armed forces removed or pressured governments in 1960, 1971, 1980 and 1997, citing in part the defense of the republic and secularism. Since the 2000s, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam, has governed Turkey and reduced the influence of the Kemalist establishment. Kemalism remains the official heritage of the state and the main identity of the opposition CHP.