Microsoft Word 1 Arif thesis cover final doc

CHAPTER 2 – HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 
75 
which ended with his death in 1938. Over the same period Greece had three changes 
of constitutional regime and nineteen changes of government. In Greece there was 
very little institutional change under the surface of governmental turbulence; under a 
single party’s command of state power there was enormous institutional change in 
Turkey.
Eschewing a discussion of Mustafa Kemal’s personal character, which could take us 
back to the demand for personal obedience in 1920 recorded by Halide Edip or even 
to the Bolayır episode of 1913
177
, one could select three important stages in the post-
war consolidation of single party rule. The first was in 1923 with the creation of a 
virtually hand-picked assembly which first met on 11 August of that year
178
; the 
second in 1925-1926 saw the suppression of the tolerated opposition and the 
introduction of the Maintenance of Order Law in March 1925 in response to the 
Şeyh Sait rebellion and the purge of old Unionists and former colleagues who had 
been in opposition after the conspiracy to kill Mustafa Kemal was disclosed in June 
1926
179
; the third in 1930 followed a short period during which the emergency laws 
of 1925 were suspended and a new opposition was officially encouraged before it 
prudently dissolved itself. Press freedom was extinguished after 1925 except the 
short spell in 1930
180
. 
Institutional changes in these years were extensive. In 1924: the abolition of the 
medreses and the placing of all education under the Ministry of Education; the 
177
Adivar 1928, 187-188 quoted
on pages 116-118 below; Zürcher 2010, 129-130 
178
Zürcher 2004, 160 
179
Zürcher 2004, 171-174; Mango, 422-429, 442-453 
180
Zurcher 2004,176-181 

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