Ottomanism, Pan-Islam, and Turkism ••• 197CUP's goals: that the empire must be militarily and morally strengthened,
that all religious and ethnic groups must have equal rights, that the consti¬
tution must be restored, and that Sultan Abdulhamid must be shorn of
power. Otherwise, Russia would take what was left of the empire in Europe,
including Istanbul and the Straits. The other Western powers would carve
up Turkey-in-Asia, just as they had partitioned Africa and divided China
into spheres of influence.
The Young Turks in Power
The CUP was Ottomanist, not Turkish nationalist, as long as it was out of
power. Fearful of the reconciliation between Britain and Russia in 1907, the
CUP inspired an army coup that forced Abdulhamid to restore the Otto¬
man constitution in 1908. Every religious and ethnic group in the empire
rejoiced; the committee, even if its leaders were Turks, were backed by
many loyal Balkan Christians, Armenians, Arabs, and Jews. Most wanted to
be Ottoman citizens under the 1876 constitution. Western well-wishers ex¬
pected Turkey to revive. Elections were held for the new parliament, the
tide of democracy seemed to be sweeping into Istanbul, and the CUP
started so many changes that we still call vigorous reformers "Young
Turks." Indeed, their rise to power portended the many revolutions that
have changed the face of Middle Eastern politics since 1908.
But if we examine what really happened to the Ottoman Empire under
the Young Turks, we must give them lower marks for their achievements
than for their stated intentions. They did not halt disintegration, as Austria
annexed Bosnia, Bulgaria declared its independence, and Crete rebelled, all
in late 1908. Their hopes for rapid economic development were dashed
when France withdrew a loan offer in 1910. The next year Italy invaded the
Ottoman province of Tripolitania. Russia incited Bulgaria and Serbia to
join forces in 1912 and attack the empire in Macedonia. In four months the
Turks lost almost all their European lands. Even Albania, a mainly Muslim
part of the Balkans, rebelled in 1910 and declared its independence in 1913.
And the Arabs, as you will see in Chapter 13, were getting restless.
How could Istanbul's government, as set up under the restored 1876
constitution, weather these problems? After the CUP won the 1912 elec¬
tion by large-scale bribery and intimidation, the army forced its ministers
to resign in favor of its rival, the Liberal Entente. It took another military
coup and a timely assassination in 1913 to restore the CUP to power. By
the outbreak of World War I, the Ottoman government was a virtual tri¬
umvirate: Enver as war minister, Talat as minister of the interior, and Je-
mal in charge of the navy. Democracy was dead in the Ottoman Empire.