From the start, Turkey's aspirations to join the European Union aroused considerable opposition. Recently, the debate has focused increasingly on supposed disparities in the spheres of culture, politics or mentality, implying that this Muslim country would not be able to comply with European norms and values. Supporters of Turkey's candidacy, on the other hand, have pointed out that Turkey has always been an important element of the European balance of power and was, in the nineteenth century, even a member of the Concert of Europe. Both sides invoke history to justify their arguments. The present paper examines the evolution of the European state system and the major stages in the history of the Turkish–European relationship, with a view to arriving at a more balanced judgement. It can be shown that new concepts, such as state interest and balance of power, had already begun in the sixteenth century to undermine the old theological worldview and, beginning with the eighteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was treated – at least de facto – as an actor that observed fully the norms of European public law (jus publicum Europeum). However, a de jure recognition of the Empire's status had to wait until the Treaty of Paris (1856), but even then it did not include an effective guarantee of Ottoman territorial integrity.
Why did the Armenian tragedy occur in 1915? Why is it viewed by many in the West as the first genocide of the 20th century, whereas the prevailing opinion in Turkey is that it resulted from legitimate state action in dire necessity against a rebellious people? A n answer to these questions necessitates the clarification of further questions regarding the general conditions of the period, the nature of the Turkish-Armenian conflict, as well as the specific goals pursued by the actors chiefly involved.Obviously, such an analysis should begin with a brief description of the place the Armenian community occupied within late Ottoman society. Armenians lived dispersed over a large territory partly within the Ottoman realm, and partly in the neighboring Russian and Persian Empires. Compact Armenian peasant populations could be found in the eastern and southeastern provinces of present-day Turkey. Moreover, substantial Armenian communities existed in urban centers such as Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, and Adana. These groups were engaged mostly in handicraft production but also included merchants, commissioners for European companies, and bankers, as well as members of liberal professions such as physicians, lawyers, architects, and the like (Atamian, 1955).The Armenian population within the Ottoman Empire was traditionally organized, just like other non-Muslim groups, in an autonomous religious community, called in the Ottoman context a millet (for further information on the millet system, see Braude & Lewis, 1982). This was a system that left not only the civil affairs of the Armenian community to be settled by its own institutions under the leadership of the Armenian patriarch of Istanbul, but also the developments within the cultural sphere, such as the education of children, fell under Armenian communal responsibility. In the course of the 19th century, significant changes occurred affecting the individual's civic status in society. Within the framework of a comprehensive 71
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