| ID | 186580 |
| Title Proper | Confessionalism, Centralism, Armenians, and Ottoman Imperial Governance in the 18th and 19th Centuries |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Antaramian, Richard |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article argues that non-Muslim engagement with 19th-century Ottoman reform should be understood in the context of a confessionalized politics that originally fostered partnerships of governance in the 18th century. The confessionalization of non-Muslim communities in the 18th century, which resulted in the political empowerment of Istanbul-based ethnarchs, promoted the establishment of robust communal boundaries that were more legible to the central state. These arrangements also made non-Muslim communities such as the Armenians partners in governance, responsible for supporting the state's effort to maintain its place atop a contentious imperial politics. The Tanzimat reforms, which reorganized non-Muslim communities and devolved some power from the clergy to the laity, were not a novelty, but instead a renegotiation of non-Muslims’ roles in the centralization of state. Rather than embrace secularized identities, non-Muslims enthusiastically used their own religious institutions to promote state centralization. In the process, they reconfigured relations of power in the region that left non-Muslims structurally marginalized. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 54, No.2; May 2022: p.319 - 337 |
| Journal Source | International Journal of Middle East Studies 2022-06 54, 2 |
| Key Words | Ottoman Empire ; Armenians ; Non-Muslims ; Tanzimat ; Confessionalism |