Ordered to be gentlemen: Turkish military officers’ ambivalent commitment to Western manners
Journal: New Perspectives on Turkey
Year: 2025

Abstract Building on the premise that etiquette ( adab-ı muaşeret ) is a crucial component in understanding Turkish cultural modernization, this article examines how the Turkish military incorporated Western manners during the Republican era. While the military’s role in supporting Westernization is well documented, less scholarly attention has been paid to the internalization and practice of Western cultural norms, particularly etiquette, within military circles. Conceptualizing manners as a di