The formation of Ottoman political opposition (1902-1909)

Politics and political opposition in the Ottoman Empire developed side by with westernization and modernization. The Ottomans, after losing the military and political superiority enjoyed in the past, focused on reforms meant to regain not just the dynamism of it's zenith, but to lay new ground for a stronger state in the 19th century. The West became a basic reference point of the process. The Ottoman intellectuals who knew the culture of Europe best concocted new and different demand. Foremost, these demands looked West for concepts like state constitution, democratic parliaments, and freedoms of speech and association. Tanzimat and Islahat Fermans prepared the ground for modernization and later constitutional debate up through 1876 brought further names like Namik Kemal, Mithad Pahsa, Ali Suavi into the spotlight along with new political institutions such as the New Ottomans into political life.Soon after the Russia-Turkey War (1877-1878), II. Abdulhamid took control of all state affairs and put pressure upon every kind of opposition. Soon, a new kind of intellectual, who were mostly educated in state schools, came to the fore to voice their opposition to the policies of the Sultan. The Young Turks, as they were named, exhibited a bitter opposition both in and outside the country. Dissidents, within the publications and political organizations in many central cities, tried to create political pressure on the Ottoman Sultan for the declaration of constitution for the second time. While this discontent allowed for a boon to the political opposition within the empire, publications in Europe created the intellectual resources of this oppositional movement. The Sultan was finally forced to accept the declaration of constitution for second time at 24 July 1908. This was an end of an era in the Ottoman history and the Young Turk Party seized the power. But soon the opposition turned against them. In the following months the country was in turmoil due to the rivalries among the competing parties which paved the way for the overthrow of the Sultan Abdulhamid II.This study explores the gradual formation of political opposition in the Ottoman tradition. It also examines how the conflicting interests in the process got together with one common goal - and having achieved this how they were parted to silence each other.