Abstract
Economic Transformation and Formation of Political Blocks in Ottoman State in the XXth Century
Among the developments during recent times which approximated Ottoman State to the West and made it sensible to the improvements, economic transformation was at the top. Economic developments and the transformation following it increased the significance of diplomacy in foreign policies and played a significant role in the formation of political blocks in European arena. For the European states, the recessions in the internal dynamics of the Ottoman state directly or indirectly affected them in conducting their objectives while it influenced the political developments before the World War I in terms of cause and effect relation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new age started in the Ottoman State and changes of mentality were encountered in the management staff. Parallel to the economic problems, the problems encountered in the military field enforced the Ottoman State to follow a balance policy in Europe. The conflicting interests among the European countries and changing foreign policies brought the convergence between Ottoman and Germany into agenda. Changing war technologies, insufficient national production of guns and raw materials and German trade which shows a tendency to spread brought along the cultural, diplomatic and ideological effects. The participation of German economy into the military and administration field in Ottoman State through diplomats and banking services and the acceleration of the entering gun trade and technical equipment into the Ottoman Country especially through Baghdad Railway Project provided a larger scaled relationship and cooperation between the two states. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the dimensions of this relationship made the two states an ally and caused them gain a seat in the formation of political blocks prior to the World War I. in this research, the political results of the economic transformation experienced during the final years of Ottoman State will be discussed and the reasons taking Ottoman State into the World War I will be analyzed.
Keywords
Economy, Diplomacy, Trade, Politics, Ottoman, Germany, World War I.
