Abstract:
This dissertation, titled A Civil Unionist: The Biography of Mehmed Cavid Bey (1876–1926), analyzes three issues related to the life of Mehmed Cavid Bey, who was the Minister of Finance during most of the Second Constitutional Period. First, as a reflection of the international arena during this period, the close interaction between the Ottoman Empire’s financial issues and its foreign policy is examined. Second, the policy making processes of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) are analyzed. Third, how the political preferences of the ruling elite were determined during the transition from empire to nation-state will un fold along the axis of Cavid Bey's life story. The original value of this dissertation is its effort to understand the multi-dimensional structure of the history of a country and its desire to achieve poltical and financial independence amid wars, conflicts, revo lution, and ideological transitions through examining the life of an indi vidual.
