Abstract: Change in late Ottoman era is highly influential on todays politics in Turkey.

In order to understand the background of the modernization of Turkey and todays political life, changing process of Ottoman Empire in decline period should be elaborated. Therefore, I have researched the factors behind the political change in late Ottoman era. In this paper, I will dwell upon, mainly, the four topics; Young Ottomans, Abdlhamid II. Period, National Movements and World War I. Furthermore, related subtopics such as Tanzimat and Islahat Reforms, Young Turks and Committee of Union and Progress. These factors helped to understand how this political change had been occurred in late Ottoman era. Keywords: Late Ottoman era, political change, decline period of Ottoman Empire, Young Ottomans, Abdlhamid II. period, National movements.

Introduction My research topic is changing process of Ottoman Empire which ended up with Turkish Republic. Especially, Ive focus on the factors of this change while mentioning the conditions of the period. In this respect, my research question is What are the factors behind the political change in late ottoman period? I think, this transformation is important for the political sociology because we talk about the massive change of the state structure and political system. To understand the background of the modernization of Turkey and todays political life, changing process of Ottoman Empire in late Ottoman period should be examined. For that purpose, I researched the most important factors of the political change of the Ottoman Empire. I determined the four main factors. These are Young Ottomans, Abdlhamid II. Period, National Movements and World War I. In Young Ottoman section I have mentioned their backgrounds and actions which affect the transformation. First Constitutional Era (I. Merutiyet) is an important topic which was occurred by the effects of Young Ottomans. While mentioning the constitution, I have, also, focused the cornerstones leading to constitution. Imperial edict of Glhane (Tanzimat Ferman) is one of them which is realized in the Young Ottoman times. I, also, mention the reasons behind the effectiveness of the Young Ottomans. Islahat Ferman and the Senedi ttifak are the other important cornerstones which I have mentioned in my paper. Abdlhamid II. period as another important topic has been mentioned in this paper. Abdlhamid stands the peak point of the political change in Ottoman Empire as a symbol. In this section reasons behind the decline are elaborated. Young Turks and Committee of Union and Progress are mentioned under the title of Adlhamid II. National movements and their effects on the changing and decline process are, also, elaborated. Lastly, First World War is mentioned in its main effects and importance in terms of Ottoman Empire. As a result, I have chosen the factors behind the period of change as my research subject. In the direction of the elements which I determined as influential, I have tried to explain how the process of change occurred and which factors were effective in which ways. In order to understand the shift between the empire and the modern state.

Factors of the Change In Late Ottoman Politics. I researched the most important factors of the political change of the Ottoman Empir and I determined the four main factors. These are Young Ottomans, Abdlhamid II. Period, National Movements and World War I. I have tried to explain how the process of change occurred and which factors were effective in which ways. Young Ottomans I want to begin with the explaining who Young Ottomans are and what is their background. The Young Ottomans were a secret organization of Ottoman nationalist intellectuals formed in 1865, influenced by such Western thinkers as Montesquieu and Rousseau and the French Revolution. The Young Ottomans were bureaucrats resulting from the Tanzimat reforms. They primarily educated in western universities. The Young Ottomans differed in social and professional background. Ziya Pasha, the oldest in the group, was a writer and poet and had served as third secretary to Sultan Abdlmecit II. Namk Kemal, also poet and writer, came from a distinguished bureaucratic family. inasi, an army captain's son who held a post in the imperial arsenal before he was sent to Paris to study finance, was the most innovative and versatile from a literary point of view. Ali Suavi was a middle-school teacher and a religiousminded writer. As a result, they had shared certain features. They were, in general, was the children of upper class or, at least, middle class families therefore, they have the social capital, which is a Pierre Bourdieus concept. Furthermore, they received education in French universities and they all have excellent French which means that they can read French philosophers, books and other sources. Consequently, the ideas of French Revolution such as nationalism and freedom affected the Ottoman intellectuals. This feature of Young Ottomans share similarities with the Bourdieus cultural capital. They have the education which helped them to get their high status. I think, they have, also, the symbolic capital since they are quite a legend among the reformist community. All these features came together and construct an image of Ottoman intellectuals who are called as Young Ottoman. Young Ottomans have the great impact on the political change with their actions and ideas. They developed the concept of Ottomanism, affecting by the French thinkers. They advocated constitutional, parliamentary government. Young Ottomans as the intellectual bureaucrats have great impact on the legislation process and the formation the first constitution in the Ottoman Empire. Declaration of the constitution was the turning point of the Ottoman political life since constitutions are the cornerstones of historical development
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process of a country. The reformist period peaked with the Constitution, called the Kann- Ess. Especially with the First Jon Turk Movement in 1860s, the idea of adopting a written constitution has been embraced by some Ottoman intellectuals. It was written by members of the Young Ottomans and declared to the public on November 23, 1876.One of them was Namk Kemal who introduced the concepts of vatan and hrriyet in the Turkish language. Through a military coup in 1876, Abdlhamid II, was invited to throne on the condition that he would declare a constitutional monarchy. This constitutional era is called as I. Merutiyet in history. Kanun- Esasi established the freedom of belief and equality of all citizens before the law. Kanun-I Esasi was the first western constitution which declared in a muslim country. The demands for constitution and parliamentary order in Ottoman Empire is first been heard from the beginning of 1848 Revolution in France and has been expressed especially by the movement of Young Ottomans led by Namk Kemal in 1867-1868. The discussion of the constitution has been intensified with the political and economic crisis era which started in 1871. In this era, Mithat Paa distinguished himself as a representative of constitutionalism. With the removal of Abdlaziz from the throne in 1876, Mithat Paa became dominant power in the government. After this event, the Young Ottomans became more dominant in government. This position provided them with a rare opportunity to realize their long-standing dream of constitution and Merutiyet. After failing to prepare the constitution in 3 months, 5.Murat was also removed from throne and replaced by 2.Abdulhamit whom they thought as more closer to the idea of Merutiyet in 31st August 1876. As the idea and the requirement of the preparation of a constitution were taken from the West, the sources from the West were used to draft Kanun- Esasi. All of the monarchial constitutions around the world were studied and the ones that were applicable to those times were selected. According to Namk Kemal, at least a thousand books were read until the proposal was complete. When the preparation stages of the constitution are examined, the effect of the members of Young Ottomans group can easily be seen. In the suggestion of the idea of constitution, in its preparation process and in its acceptance and declaration, the effects and efforts of members of the Young Ottomans group can be seen. They succeeded in this endeavor due to their high-level education and by means provided to them from their bureaucratic positions.

Empire's First Constitutional era, was short-lived. The parliament survived for only two years before the sultan suspended it. And, the istibdad era had begun until the declaration of the constitution, again, with the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, which was handled in Young Turk section of the paper. Nevertheless, the idea of Ottomanism proved influential. Young Ottomans, primarily educated in western universities, believed that a constitutional monarchy would give an answer to the Empire's growing social unrest. The cornerstones leading to 1876 Constitution are; Senedi ttifak (1839), 1839 Glhane Hatt, 1856 Islahat Ferman and the foundation of ura-y Devlet in 1868. The Kanun- Esasi is the product of an Ottoman West dialog in the last quarter of 19th century. The economic problems of Ottoman Empire started with lose of territories since 17th century and constant budget deficit. With the signing of free trade agreements with European countries, the taxes from the customs were very low from the imported goods. This situation caused both the reduction of income of the Empire and decrease in domestic industries. Apart from economic problems, the ideas of freedom and nationalism spread from 1789 French Revolution have shuttered the Ottoman Empire. In 19th century, rebellions erupted in Balkans to gain freedom. These rebellions are sometimes supported by European countries which were in conflict of interests and Tsarist Russia. They forced the Empire to make reforms concerning about nonMuslim public living in the boundaries of the state. The declarations of Tanzimat in 1839 and Islahat in 1856 were realized in these circumstances. Tanzimat is the name of the modernization era which started with the declaration of Tanzimat (as known as Glhane Hatt- erif-) in 1838. It is accepted to be ended with the ascension of 2.Abdlhamit to the throne and the declaration of Merutiyet. Modernization of Turkey process in Turkey started with the Edict Tanzimat in 1839 which instituted European-style clothing, uniforms, weapons, architecture, education, legislation, banking, institutional organization, agricultural and industrial innovations, new technologies in transport and communications, and land reform. And , and the actions that had to be made in order to secure these rights had been proposed. During the Tanzimat period, the government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army, banking system reforms, the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law and guilds with modern factories. In 1856, the Hatt- Hmayun promised equality for all Ottoman citizens regardless of their ethnicity and religious confession.
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Tanzimat reforms had far-reaching effects. Those educated in the schools established during the Tanzimat period included Mustafa Kemal Atatrk and other progressive leaders and thinkers of the Republic of Turkey . These reforms included guarantees to ensure the Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honor, and property. There are almost a hundred changings came with Tanzimat yet I will just mention a few of them which are related the topic. There are changings in economic space such as the reorganization of the finance system according to the French model; the Commerce and Trade Code; the abolition of the capitation tax (cizye) on non-Muslims, with a regular method of establishing and collecting taxes; the establishment of the Ottoman Central Bank and the permission for private sector publishers and printing firms; the replacement of guilds with factories. In judicial system, the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code according to the French model; the Press and Journalism Regulation Code; the abolition of slavery and slave trade in 1847; the first European style court. For the educational system, these are the some important developments: the establishment of the first modern universities (so called darlfn) , academies and teacher schools; establishment of the School of Economic and Political Sciences (Mekteb-i Mlkiye). Other important changings are: non-Muslims were allowed to become soldiers the reorganization of the army; the adoption of an Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag; the first nationwide Ottoman census in 1844 (although only male citizens were counted); the first national identity cards (officially named the Mecidiye identity papers, or informally kafa kad) Sened-I ttifak is an agreement which consists of some constitutional qualities. The lawyers of constitution accept Sened-I ttifak as the first constitutional document in Turkish history and start the movements of constitutions with this document. There are people who compare this document with Magna Carta Libertatum as they both are an attempt to limit the governing rights of the government. Islahat Ferman is an edict which consists of fundamental changes in political institutions, citizen rights and establishment of new institutions in order to prevent the Empire from collapsing. It was prepared and introduced by Sadrazam Mehmed Emin Ali Paa in the direction of big European countries. The organization was declared forbidden and its members exiled. The failure of the "Young Ottoman" policies led groups of intellectuals to search for other means. One of these groups was the Young Turks. Afterwards, leaders of the Young Ottomans had been appeared in the

Jon Turks organization. Still, efforts and the influence of Young Ottomans during the establishment of constitutional government proved their power. Abdlhamid II. Period. In Ottoman Empire, change and modernization are seen most distinctly in the decline period. There are political, economic and historical reasons behind the decline and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Abdlhamid stands the peak point of the political change in Ottoman Empire as a symbol. The most important reason behind the decline and the fall of the Ottoman Empire is its economy which based on spoils obtained by the wars not the production. Ottomans turned their back on the technology. They didnt need industry and production; they rather battled and use the sources of the land which they annexed. With the prizes obtained by battles they strengthen their state treasury. Spoil of war, lands which are annexed and taxes which are imposed are the basis of the state sources. With the industrial revolution, World took yet another turn. And, since there is no such background and accumulation of knowledge in Ottoman Empire, it could not be located in this newly World order. Moreover, Ottoman Empire had not built up industrial installations and only became a market which is exploited by the imperialist states. Empire got weakens day by day and, finally, it loses its strength. Furthermore, f welfare is well-established no one thinks that the system is wrong. When the poverty arises then people think that something is wrong it is not working and we have to change it. Moreover, authority with no Money starts being powerless. Ottoman empire was like a father with no money and caring for his children and he is thrown out of the house. The Empire had difficulty in repaying the Ottoman public debt to European banks, which caused the establishment of the Council of Administration of the Ottoman Public Debt. Empire was overwhelmed by foreign depts and this situation makes it more weak and defenceless. By the end of the 19th century, the Empire still was not invaded by Western Powers. It is because Western Powers attempt to maintain a balance ofpower in the area. Both Austria and Russia wanted to increase their spheres of influence and territory at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, but they were both kept in check mostly by Britain, which feared Russian dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are also various reasons for the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Another important reason is, for instance, since they include the land in their borders, empire became too large to
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control. This expansionist policy brings the logistic problems. Ottomans lose the control over the far and wide territory. Also, French Revolution and its impacts can be ignored. In the course of events, disintegration was inevitable. The other reason is the forbiddance of the interest. Since the interest was forbidden, Ottomans had never established the capital market and they could finance neither industry nor the cultural area. As a result, Ottoman Empire was not fit in developing and changing world and this position of the empire accelerated the decline. Inadaptability of the Ottoman Empire had appeared in the economy, army, and politics. As a result, they tried to imitate the western countries and admire the countries which are seen as powerful. Young Turks are the other important actors in the process of Ottoman political change. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Thus, Second Constitutional Era (II. Merutiyet) began. In the time of dissolution, the Revolution arose from an unlikely union of reform-minded pluralists, Turkish nationalists, Western-oriented secularists, and anyone who blame the Sultan for the bad state of the Empire. The Revolution restored the parliament, which had been suspended by the Sultan in 1878. However, the process of replacing the monarchic institutions with constitutional institutions and electoral policies was neither simple nor bloodless. The revolt began in mid-April, under Young Turk leadership, demanding restoration of the constitution. The sultan's attempt to suppress this uprising but he failed because the movement was aso popular among the Sultans soldiers. Rebellion spread rapidly. At last, Abdl Hamid announced restoration of the constitution. Significant results of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution included: the gradual creation of a new governing elite and deposition of SultanAbdulhamid in favor of Mehmed V the following year. Young Turks and small organizations are union under the Committee of Union and Progress (ttihat ve Terakki). Committee of Union and Progress became the new power center in Ottoman politics. The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students brahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, shak Skuti and Ali Hseyinzade. It was transformed into a political organization by Bahaeddin Sakir by aligning itself with the Young Turks in 1906, during the period of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress was an umbrella name for different underground factions, some of which were generally referred to as the "Young Turks". Under this umbrella name, one could find
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ethnic Albanians, Bulgarians, Arabs, Serbians, Jews, Greeks,Turks, Kurds and Armenians uni ted by the common goal of changing the rgime. The evolution of CUP was interestingly also supported by the French government. With the Second Constitutional Era, in the first election to the Ottoman Parliament after the Young Turk Revolution, the Committee of Union and Progress got only 60 of the 275 seats, despite its leading role in the revolution. Other parties represented in Parliament at this time included the Armenian

nationalist Dashnak and Hunchak parties and the main opposition, the Liberty and Entente party, sometimes referred to by Ottoman historians as the "Liberal Union". "The Three Pashas", also known as the "dictatorial triumvirate", of the Ottoman Empire included the Ottoman minister of the interior, Mehmed Talat, the minister of war, Ismail Enver, and the minister of the Navy, Ahmed Cemal. As organizers of the Young Turks they were the dominant political figures in the empire during World War I. These three men became the de facto rulers of the Ottoman Empire until its dissolution following World War I. They were members of the Committee of Union and Progress. One of the aims was to create a Pan-Turkishstate which meant, in the words Enver Pasha, relocating the dhimmi, the non-Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire. These eventually resulted in the relocation of the Armenians and death of 1.5 million Ottoman-Armenian citizens. In spite of parliamentary elections, non-partisan figures from the pre-revolutionary period known as the "Old Turks" still dominated the Ottoman cabinet, known as the Sublime Porte (Babali). The Grand Vizier Mehmed Kamil Pasha and his minister of war Nazim Pasha became targets of the CUP, which overthrew them in a military coup d'tat (hkmet darbesi) on 23 January 1913. The Coup of 1913 in the Ottoman Empire resulted in the grand vizier Kamil Pasha being driven from power and the replacement of Minister of War Nazm Pasha by Enver Pasha. The most notable effect of the coup was its strengthening of the reform movement. The emerging government could hardly be called constitutional. The following year, new legislation made the CUP the Empire's only legal political party. The coup essentially replaced the sultan's actual authority with a dictatorial triumvirate known as the Three Pashas: the minister of the interior, Mehmed Talat Pasha, the minister of war, smail Enver, and the naval minister, Ahmed Cemal. All are highly controversial today because it was these men who led the Ottoman Empire into World War I. Another important reason is, for instance,

since they include the land in their borders, empire became too large to control. This expansionist policy brings the logistic problems. National Movements Balkans. The rise of the Western notion of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire eventually caused the break-down of the Ottoman millet concept. Unquestionably, an understanding of the concept of the nationhood prevalent in the Ottoman Empire, which was different from the current one as it was centered on religion, helps us to understand what happened during the decline period of the Ottoman Empire. The national awakening of each group was very complex and most of the groups interacted with each other. Albanians, Bosniak, Bulgarian, Bulgarian, Macedonion, Romanian and Serbian national movements are the most influencial ones on the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, leading figures among Young Turks are from this geography. They are highly affected from national ideas in Balkans. Ethnic nationalism. The rise of nationalism swept through many countries during the 19th century, and it affected territories within the Ottoman Empire. A rising national consciousness, together with a growing sense of ethnic nationalism, made nationalistic thought one of the most significant Western ideas imported to the Ottoman empire. Empire was forced to deal with nationalism both within and beyond its borders. The number of revolutionary political parties rose dramatically. Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching consequences during the 19th century and determined much of Ottoman policy during the early 20th century. Many Ottoman Turks questioned whether the policies of the state were to blame. And some felt that the sources of ethnic conflict were external, and unrelated to issues of governance. Nationalism movements gained a seat among Turks in the Empire. Young Turk movement was the representative of this nationalist movements among Turks. They had important historical role during the transition period. One of the important political turmoil in the Ottoman Empire was stemmed from the Young Turk Revolution . World War One. In WWI period there is a chaotic environment in the Empire. Therefore, the leading figures are emerged from this chaotic environment. The Three Pashas were principal players in
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the Ottoman-German Alliance and the Ottoman Empire's entry into World War I on the side of the Central Powers. One of the three, Ahmed Cemal, was opposed to an alliance with Germany, and French and Russian diplomacy attempted to keep the Ottoman Empire out of the war, but Germany was agitating for a commitment. Finally, the point of no return was reached when Germans took Goeben, Breslau and Turkish warships into the Black Sea and attacked the Russian ports. It was claimed that Ahmed Cemal agreed with Germans for the strike. In this way, Ottomans officially enter the First World War. At this chaotic times, throne of leadership has many candidate. According to their status and effectiveness leaders had emerged. This situation reminds me the Max Webers concept of charismatic authority which is his tripartite classification of authority..

Weber defined charismatic authority as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. Enver, Talat and Cemal Pashas was the three charismatic leader who had ambition for the rulership.

Conclusion As a conclusion, to illuminate the question; What are the factors behind the political change in late ottoman period?, I have conducted my research. I think, this transformation is important for the political sociology because it resulted in massive change of the state structure and political system. Ottoman Empire has come a long way during changing process towards a modern nation state. To understand the background of the modernization of Turkey and todays political life, changing process of Ottoman Empire in late Ottoman period should be examined. For that purpose, I researched the most important factors of the political change of the Ottoman Empire. The Young Ottomans were a secret organization of Ottoman nationalist intellectuals formed in 1865, influenced by such Western thinkers as Montesquieu and Rousseau and the French Revolution. They were intellectual burecrats who have, generally, upper and middle class families. They received their education in Europe, especially in French. At this respect, we can say that they have cultural and social capital. Young Ottomans were highly effective on the establishment of the constitution since they they have a status which can be influential. Kanun-I Esasi was the first and last constitution of the Ottoman Empire. It is so important in history in this respect. The period in which the constitution was declared is called I.
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Merutiyet. This period is highly important because many reforms and modernization movements executed in this period. Moreover, the absolute power of the sultan was limited first time in the history. Then, I have mentioned the cornerstones leading to the First Constitutional Era. These were; Senedi ttifak (1839), 1839 Glhane Hatt, 1856 Islahat Ferman and the foundation of ura-y Devlet in 1868. Sened-I ttifak is an agreement which consists of some constitutional qualities. Islahat Ferman is an edict which consists of fundamental changes in political institutions, citizen rights and establishment of new institutions in order to prevent the Empire from collapsing. Modernization of Turkey process in Turkey started with the Edict Tanzimat in 1839 which instituted European-style clothing, uniforms, weapons, architecture, education, legislation, banking, institutional organization, agricultural and industrial innovations, new technologies in transport and communications, and land reform. Abdlhamid II. period stands the peak point of the political change as a symbol in decline period of Ottoman Empire. The most important reason behind the decline and the fall of the Ottoman Empire is its economy which based on spoils obtained by the wars not the production. They didnt need industry and production; they rather battled and use the sources of the land which they annexed. Young Turks are the other important actors in the process of Ottoman political change. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Thus, Second Constitutional Era (II. Merutiyet) began. In the time of dissolution, the Revolution arose from an unlikely union of reform-minded pluralists, Turkish nationalists, Western-oriented secularists, and anyone who blame the Sultan for the bad state of the Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress was an umbrella name for different underground factions, some of which were generally referred to as the "Young Turks". Young Turks and Ittihat ve Terakki members, especially Enver, Talat and Cemal Pashas, are the are the important actorsho are effective both Abdlhamid II. period and afterwards. Nationalist movements were important since they affected the many members of the Committee of Union and Progres.Another factor that light the fuse was nationalism movements. All these events ended up with the entering the World War. As a result, the process so called collapse can be seen as a drastic change which leaves nothing belongs to the old. 19th century had witnessed the old World order was doomed to be vanished since it could not shelter in the new political system. Ottoman Empire was not fit in developing and changing world and this position of the empire accelerated the decline. Inadaptability of the Ottoman Empire had appeared in the economy, army, and politics.
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References Deringil, S. (2007). Simgeden millet: II. Abdlhamidden Mustafa Kemale devlet ve millet. stanbul: letiim Yaynlar. Mangoo, A. (2009). From the Sultan to Atatrk: Turkey. London: Haus. Mardin, . (1992). Jn Trklerin siyasi fikirleri 1895-1908. stanbul: letiim Yaynlar. Mardin, . (1962). The genesis of young Ottoman thought; a study in the modernization of Turkish political ideas. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press. Tunaya, T. Z. (1998). Hrriyetin ilan: ikinci merutiyetin siyasi hayatna baklar. stanbul: Cumhuriyet.

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