The construction of modern Ottoman foreign service and diplomacy in the era of abdulhamid II

This thesis deals with the modernization process of Ottoman Foreign Service at the intersection of modern diplomacy and modern bureaucracy by focusing on its central and external organization in the context of progress and change. The focus of this study is to analyze the reflection of bureaucratic transformation in the Abdulhamid II era to the Foreign Service in line with the progress of modern diplomacy in the Ottoman Empire. It analyzes changes and transformations experienced in the Foreign Service of Abdulhamid II era in terms of differences and continuities. Thereby it reveals the investments that the Ottoman Empire made for modernizing diplomacy and the boundaries of its diplomatic interests. The dissertation deals with the evolution of the Foreign Ministry, legal regulations about the central and external organization of the Foreign Service, the opening of new foreign representatives (embassy and consulate) in accordance with changing international balances of the era and the Ottomans' objective of foreign policy, changing status of embassies, new embassy projects, the purpose and criteria in choosing the diplomats appointed to the missions, the embassy staff and the remits of ambassadors, envoys and consulates.