The ottoman war on ‘Anarchism’ and revolutionary violence

Abstract

Based primarily on Ottoman and British archival sources, this chapter discusses the attempt on Sultan Abdülhamid II’s life and its reception within the context of the rise of global radicalism and the international popularization of the use of symbolic revolutionary violence. It also focuses on the reactions by the Hamidian regime, including the investigative work, the development of the set of arguments to prevent the return of Joris to Belgium, and the efforts undertaken to prevent the occurrence of a second attempt on the Sultan’s life. A brief examination of the coverage of the incident in the official organ of the leading faction of the Young Turks is also included in order to draw attention to their views on the use of violence in oppositional politics. After the initial shock of the bombing subsided, the Hamidian regime responded with a widespread and multilayered effort that included international cooperation to identify the perpetrators. The police work led to the arrest of Edward Joris and the ARF network of militants and sympathizers that organized and oversaw the assassination attempt. Efforts were also made to bolster the image of the Ottoman Empire as a modern power, where due diligence was given to legal proceedings during the court hearings of the perpetrators.