The Turkish mission civilisatrice? :|governance of Dersim as an internal colony (1927-1952)

Abstract

Global modernity was achieved through the formation of nation-states that conducted respective versions of forced homogenization by implementing centralizing principles.This dissertationargues that theRepublic ofTurkey adoptedmanytechniquesofthefamedmissioncivilisatriceoftheFrenchThird Republic;adiscourseofsuperiorcorevalueswasusedtosuppressthelocal cultureandsocioeconomicstructureofahithertowillinglystatelesspeoplein the mountainous region of Dersim. The quarter century considered in this dissertationcoincides with the Inspectorates-General,whichIarguewasan internalcolonialinstitution.Throughanin-depth analysisofreportswrittenin thelate1930s andearly1940s byNecmeddinSahir(1898-1992),ajournalist, bureaucrat and entrepreneur, as well as additional archival material, this dissertation presents a critical reading of Turkish history in relation to the GreaterDersim region, whichincludespresent-dayTunceli. Thecontemporary polemicthatcontinuestodivideTurkishpolitics,centeredaroundtheevents of 1937 and 1938, is a sensitive subject that deserves special attention in relationtocontemporaryidentitypoliticsinTurkey.Theoriginal contribution ofthisworkresidesinitsmissiontoovercomepoliticalpolemics surrounding theseeventsbyemployingsocioeconomicdatafromthereportsofNecmeddin Sahir and interpreting them from the perspective of subaltern studies spotlighting thosevoicesthatwouldnormallynotbefoundinstaterecords.