THE MERITOCRACY PARADIGM DURING THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN STATE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Authors : Hasan Gürkan

Pages : 565-583

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Publication Date : 2022-09-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This paper aimed to explore the meritocracy paradigm and meritocratic management practices in establishing the modern state in the Ottoman Empire. Meritocracy is one of the neglected issues in the historiography of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the current study attempted to compensate for a critical lack in the field. The primary concern of the study was the need for an elite administrative-bureaucrat class in the Ottoman Empire after the 18th century and the efforts to train competent and well-qualified officials and bureaucrats until the collapse of the Empire. Embracing an administration that integrated Turkish state traditions and Islamic characteristics, the Empire started to appreciate the meritocratic management practices in the 19th century when modernization efforts accelerated. Hence, the Empire attempted to train competent officers in specific fields such as education, finance, and foreign affairs, and those civil servants were appointed to certain positions in the state administration. However, it was concluded that despite the vigorous attempts to uphold the principle of merit, there was no uninterrupted continuity of such practices, and bureaucracy remained in-between “merit” and “loyalty.”
Keywords : Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, Meritokrasi, Bürokrasi, Bürokrat, Memur.

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