VARUZHAN G. GEGHAMYAN
SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS IN TURKEY DURING THE
PRESIDENCY OF I. INONU (1938-1950)
The defense of dissertation will take place at 11:00, on 20 th of July
of 2017, at the meeting of the Specialized council 006 “World History,
International Relations” at the Institute of Oriental Studies of NAS RA.
The disse rtation is submitted for the pursuing of the Scientific
Degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in the field of “World History,
International Relations” 07.00.02.
SUMMARY
The dissertation is a historical research into the role of socio-cultural dynamics in
Turkey during the presidency of Ismet Inonu (1938-1950). The main focus of the
dissertation is the socio-cultural analyses of the politics, particularization and identification
of the reasons of the emergence of the phenomena of charismatic leadership and cult of
personality in Turkey during the presidency of Inonu in particular. The actuality of the
topic is due to the fact, that one of the most critical factors of Turkey's historical and
political development until nowadays is the authoritarian power and charismatic
leadership. Yet, in current historiography and political science the emergence of
charismatic leadership and the cult of personality are often linked to personality traits and
dominant ideologies of particular politicians.
The main aim of the dissertation is to study the role of the mechanism of
charismatic leadership as a key factor in the socio-cultural dynamics of modernizing
traditional non-western society, and to demonstrate its construction and representation.
The main scientific conclusion of the dissertation is the thesis that the
formation of Inonu’s cult of personality was due to the destruction of social ties and the
necessity of solidarization in the society in the process of modernization and thus was
not dependent on the personality traits of the politician.
The research comprises introduction, three chapters consisting of thirteen
subchapters, conclusion and bibliography.
The introduction covers the actuality of the topic, also the goals and objectives,
scientific novelty, chronological framework, methodological basis and practical significance
of the research, summary theory of the sources and literature concerning the issue.
The first chapter is entitled «FROM THE «SECOND MAN» TO
«NATIONAL CHIEF»: TURKISH REPUBLIC DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF
I. INONU» and consists of four subchapters. The first subchapter is entitled «Inonu as
military, diplomatic and political actor». It refers shortly to the biography of Inonu
and demonstrates in details the emergence and role of the «Second man» phenomena. The
second subchapter is entitled «The election of Inonu as a president» . In this chapter
factors and conditions that influenced Inonu’s election as a president ara researched.
Ideological foundations of the «Chief» phenomena in Turkey are given in the third
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