Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the modern Turkish state, established the country on a foundation of “Six Arrows”: reformism, secularism, republicanism, nationalism, populism and etatism. These ideas were considered "fundamental and unchanging principles" and were written into the country’s new constitution. Until today, they serve as the basis for debates about the nature of the state.
Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal, also known as Ataturk, was a Turkish nationalist who played a seminal role in ending Ottoman rule and establishing the new state. On October 1923 when the Grand National Assembly formally declared the Republic of Turkey, Ataturk became president. As Turkey’s leader, Ataturk sought to unify the ethnically diverse state and integrate it into Europe. He believed Turkey should follow the lead of Western countries whose societies were enriched by thought and reason rather than religion. Thus, he instituted far-reaching reforms based on secularism and modernity. After Ataturk’s death in 1938, the system he established continued to elevate Turkey to European levels of economic and social development. At the same time, Turkish leaders presided over strict, corrupt and occasionally oppressive governments. The Turkish army was strengthened under this new system and overthrew four governments in the last four decades of the Twentieth century.
The “Six Arrows” of Kemalism
• Reformism was the basis upon which historic changes in Turkish politics and society were built.
• Secularism separated Islam from the state and aimed to protect the state from religion.
• Republicanism was enshrined in the constitution, which declared "sovereignty is vested in the nation" rather than a single ruler.
• Nationalism was an attempt to instill a sense of Turkish identity in the people, by reforming the Turkish language, reshaping Turkish history and unifying people by stressing the future over the past.
• Populism granted full equality for all people under the law, emphasized that all people were Turks and eliminated the communal autonomy of certain ethnic groups.
• Etatism (statism) made the government the primary agent in managing the country’s economy, including state planning of its mixed economy and major investment in government-run businesses. The government sought to limit foreign countries’ influence in the Turkish economy.
Notable Reforms
• Ataturk abolished the Caliphate, an Islamic form of government, and replaced Sharia, law rooted in Islamic principles, with the Swiss civil code and an adapted Italian penal code.
• He further diminished the role of religion by outlawing the wearing of the fez and traditional dress, discouraging the wearing of the veil and banning religious brotherhoods.
• Ataturk changed the Turkish alphabet from Arabic to Latin, making it easier for Turkish people to learn other European languages and expanding the accessibility of literacy for the population. He also replaced the Muslim calendar with the Christian calendar.
• He extended suffrage to all women and granted them full equality under the law.
• Ataturk modernized the educational system by instituting secular education and closing all religious schools.
• In 1923, he created the Republican People’s Party to serve as the nationalist party in Turkish politics and to support Kemalist reforms in the government.
This article was primarily sourced from U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies site, with additional information from the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Times and the Congressional Research Service.