The Militarization Process of Ottoman Society in The Age of Total War: Propaganda, Ideology and Education (1908-1918)

This study aims to examine the reorganization of Ottoman military and social structure from the announcement of the "Liberty" (1908) to the end of the World War I (1918). The Young Turks Revolution had two crucial influences on the Ottoman military organization. First, Young Turks leadership realized that the Ottoman Empire needs a reorganization in military. Second, this reorganization attempt could only be possible with a new social structure. The Unionists felt the burning urgency of the need to build to these new circumstances. Hence, the Ottoman government gets started a enormous propaganda that involved religion, morale, nationalism and patriotic feelings. The Ottoman government shaped press, education, art, religious activities, and cultural studies for the military propaganda and new technique of recruitment of the Ottoman army. This study examines the anatomy of this new state of mind in the late Ottoman Empire.