Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of developments and a picture of the Armenian world as it stood in the 1970s. It describes the rise of the Ottoman or Western Armenian problem and the failure of the established Armenian community in Istanbul working within the millet system to bring about social and economic reforms. The book details the changes on the individual psychological level and value systems to make revolution possible. It also describes the rise and evolution of revolutionary parties that replaced traditional institutions in the leadership for the struggle for reforms and in the development of a national agenda. The book presents case studies of evolution within the program of a revolutionary party, the Dashnaktsutiune, and a revolutionary individual, Yervand Balian, respectively. It introduces the ideology of the Young Turks and the Ottoman regime responsible for the Genocide.