Title: Political initiatives 'from the bottom up' in the Ottoman Empire
Description: Were there political initiatives "from the bottom up" in an empire where the sultan ruled over his "flock" (reaya) rather than governing citizens with formal civil and political rights in the modern sense of these terms? Taking as its point of departure the title of the ground-breaking article of 1986 by Suraiya Faroqhi, the aim of the 7th Halcyon Days in Crete Symposium, held in 2009, was to explore the nature and forms of political participation in the Ottoman Empire with an emphasis on a "bottom-up" direction. The result of this project is the 19 papers in this volume, which deal with the matter from various angles and perspectives, thus encouraging the reader to reflect on the meaning and uses of three key concepts: "political", "initiative", and "bottom up", all in the context of the Ottoman Empire, its institutions and society. -- Publisher.
Subjects: Politics and government, Congresses, Political science, History, Conference proceedings, Political rights, Political participation, Political institutions and public administration, Political rights. Political participation, Political activity
Places: Turkey
Time periods: Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918