@article{article_1715012, title={Capitalism Debates in Türkiye in the Context of the Transformation of Socio-economic Structure from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic}, journal={Osmanlı Medeniyeti Araştırmaları Dergisi}, pages={314–356}, year={2026}, DOI={10.21021/osmed.1715012}, url={https://izlik.org/JA27EU73NY}, author={Yıldırım, İlteriş and Önür, Hıdır and Toker, Serhat}, keywords={Socioeconomic Structure, Capitalism, Western Europe, Ottoman Empire, Türkiye}, abstract={Within the organization of human and social life, the institution of the economy emerges as a social structure identified with the struggle against material nature. Shaped within the well-known complexity of individual behavior, the economic institution appears as a reality that guides, constrains, and surrounds individual experience. Socioeconomic structures, which vary according to the conditions of the capitalist world and differ from country to country, are also shaped by historical processes. In this sense, historical, contemporary, and future-oriented debates on socioeconomic formations draw from these structures as sources of contention. While the dramatic trajectory of Western Europe throughout the Middle Ages culminated in the triumph of modernity, in regions such as the Ottoman Empire—where strong centralized states prevailed—the relative stability of the traditional period gave way to an anxious drive for reform during modernity. The study used a historical comparative method with an interpretive approach. This study evaluates the development of the capitalist socioeconomic order—now the prevailing reality of the modern age—by comparing Western Europe and the Ottoman experience. In particular, it seeks to answer why the social structure transmitted from the Ottoman Empire to Republican Türkiye failed to undergo a complete capitalist transformation. This inquiry also aims to discuss perspectives on how the phenomenon of not having become capitalist should be interpreted. As a result of the study, it has been concluded that the Ottoman Empire, rather than failing to become capitalist, deliberately chose not to pursue capitalist development based on original principles that shaped its economic mentality. Moreover, despite this distinctive socio-economic and historical process, emphasis has been placed on the value of the great efforts made during the founding period of the Republic of Turkey to implement a rational development policy under challenging global conditions.}, number={28}