Talât Pascha

Talât Pasha (1874–1921) led a novel one-party regime in Istanbul that emerged from crises, characterized by radical politics that opened the age of extremes, the Europe of dictatorships, world wars, and genocides. From 1913 to 1918, under the influence of the ideologue Ziya Gökalp, it anticipated a fascist understanding of state, society, and history, creating a centralist one-party state that eliminated minorities and sought to subordinate everything, including religions, in an authoritarian manner. His violent population policies victimized the Ottoman Christians, foremost among them the Armenians.

Despite the defeat in World War I, Talât laid the groundwork for the Kemalists who followed him, most of whom belonged to his party. Thanks to German authorities, he found refuge in Berlin in 1918, from where he agitated for the continued war in Asia Minor in coordination with Kemal Atatürk and the Bolsheviks, before being assassinated in 1921. After their victory and the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), Talât's successors initiated an ultra-nationalist modernization that garnered applause from many, including the former German ally, whose diplomacy continued to deny the genocide of the Armenians well into the early 21st century.