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Revision as of 00:17, 20 August 2011 by Biscuittin (talk | contribs) (cat)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Sèvres syndrome is a term used by scholars in discussing the history of modern Turkey. It describes the impact of the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres on the formation and subsequent development of the Turkish state. In this treaty, the victorious powers sought the division of the former Ottoman heartland of Anatolia. The Treaty created an Armenian homeland inthe east and added largely Greek-speaking parts of Thrace and the Aegean coast to Greece. Large swaths of the rest would have been under British, French, Italian or International control, including Constantinople and the Bosporous. The independent Turkish state that emerged would have been quite small. The perceived humiliation of this division of land provoked a Turkish uprising under Ataturk that let to the creation of modern Turkey. Sèvres syndrome describes the lingering impact of the threatened dismemberment of what Turks perceive as their rightful national territory.
Historian Taner Akçam describes this attitude as an ongoing perception that "there are forces which continually seek to disperse and destroy us, and it is necessary to defend the state against this danger." Dietrich Jung describes it as "the perception of being encircled by enemies attempting the destruction of the Turkish state," and asserts that it remains a significant determinant of Turkish foreign policy.
References
- Taner Akçam,"From Empire to Republic; Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide," Zoryan Institute, 2001, p. 230.
- http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll/2003_07-09/jung_sevres/jung_sevres.html