ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the experience of Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) when it ruled as a single-party regime (1923–1950). In particular, it focuses on the historical and intellectual roots of the CHP, its praxis, and to what extent it served or could serve as a model for other single-party states. One prominent theme is that the CHP's leaders, most notably Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), envisioned a tutelary role for the party, one that both identified and sought to serve the “general will” in terms of nation-building and modernization. While the CHP shared some features with the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP), which ruled the Ottoman Empire prior to and during World War I, the main inspiration for much of its guiding philosophy came from Western sources. In practice, the CHP served as an appendage to the state, advancing ideas such as republicanism, nationalism, secularism, and populism. One of its core goals was to develop a unifying national identity, one that denied any class, ethnic, or sectarian divisions, and that in turn obviated any need for alternative parties that would undermine the unity of the people. The CHP was not, however, a particularly strong or autonomous force, as it was controlled by its leadership and did little to mobilize Turkish society. Although in many ways Turkey was successful under the CHP, its Western pedigree and orientation limited its ability to serve as a model for non-Western developing nations, which by the middle of the twentieth century looked to other countries for inspiration and support. The chapter concludes with some reflections on tutelage and claims to represent a singular national vision.
