ABSTRACT

This introductory chapter explains the Tanzimat as an interactive and transformative process for both the Ottoman state and local actors. It reviews existing scholarship on the Tanzimat and explains how it makes a contribution distinct from earlier studies. As an interdisciplinary endeavor, it introduces key concepts from the literature on state transformation and social network analysis to the study of the Ottoman Empire. It argues that reforms should be seen as a win-win game between the state and social actors (in contrast to a zero-sum game). Additionally, it overturns arguments that see the Tanzimat as part of inevitable imperial decline and shows how the reforms won out in many important instances.