Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2013

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

History

Committee Chair

McCarthy, Justin A.

Author's Keywords

Turkish counterinsurgency; Ottoman insurgency; Ottoman counterinsurgency; Turkish insurgency; WWI counterinsurgency

Subject

Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918; Military art and science--Turkey--History--20th century; World War, 1914-1918--Turkey; Armenian massacres, 1915-1923--Turkey

Abstract

This thesis examines the counterinsurgency efforts of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War and the evolutionary process through which those techniques were created. The importance of this is to demonstrate the ever changing nature of warfare as well as the adaptability a counterinsurgent requires. It also demonstrates how the West practiced counterinsurgency techniques over a decade before the First World War and that those techniques often led to civilian suffering. By comparing the British and American experiences with insurgency in South Africa and the Philippines, this thesis shows that population control is one of the most effective counterinsurgency techniques. This assertion is based on research of previous counterinsurgents as well as Western doctrine. This thesis provides evidence that the Ottoman decision to deport large numbers of Armenians was a decision made out of necessity, and considered the most effective counterinsurgency technique in the midst of World War I.

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