Journal of Political Ideologies

[Wu Han]

Ozkanism

Temiz Ozkan was a military leader, revolutionary and author often credited with the foundation of the modern Jakanian state in the early 21st century. Prior to this period, the country had been governed by the Ahmadi Caliphate and later the Great Empire of Turjak. Ozkan emerged as one of the foremost figures in the movement to bring modernising reforms to Jakania in the wake of the collapse of the Great Empire but he rose to power amid a series of external and internal conflicts in the country.

Ozkan's political philosophy was heavily influenced by his commitment to bringing progress and renewal to Jakania. The central tenets of his programme were identified as populism, secularism, nationalism, and republicanism. While Ozkan himself was a prolific author and wrote numerous books, essays and treatises on his vision of the new Jakanian state, there is significant diversity in the modern interpretation of Ozkanist thought. Part of this diversity is the result of centuries of disagreement over his legacy while some of it can be blamed on the contradictions in his works and policy programmes.

The foundation of Ozkan's political philosophy lies in his application of popular sovereignty and social contract theory. Ozkan frequently referred to these ideas as "populism" although it is not obvious that they correspond to the modern conceptions of that term. Populism as Ozkan articulated it meant that the government of any nation must be responsible to the people through democratic mechanisms, and that citizens of a nation forfeited certain privileges to the state in exchange for the protection of their fundamental rights. Ozkan used this principle to justify, for example, why the state could collect taxes.

Linked to the importance of populism was Ozkan's strict commitment to republicanism. For most of the country's history prior to his rule, Jakania had been governed by absolute monarchs and the vast inequalities that existed between the governing class and the majority of the population informed Ozkan's anti-monarchist sentiments. In a 2013 book entitled simply Republic, he outlined his vision of the democratic mechanisms of the new Jakanian state which he stressed "must always be republican in order to preserve the equality and dignity of all Jakanian people".

Ozkan considered his political philosophy to be fundamentally nationalist. In his view, the Jakanian people constituted a unified nation based on a shared "common will" in contrast to the Turjak and pan-Jelbo-Tukaric nationalist movements that were dominant at that time. In this sense, Ozkan characterised his principles as anti-imperialist since they made no claim over the Turjak people living outside of the Jakanian state and were open to include non-Turjaks living inside Jakania. His desire to de-emphasise the centrality of the Turjak ethnicity as fundamental to the Jakanian nation, can be seen most obviously in his decision to name the country Jakania rather than retain the Turjak name used in the past.

Easily the most controversial of Ozkan's central tenets was his emphasis on the secular nature of the republic. The basis for his commitment to a strict form of secularism was a belief that politics dominated by religion was a feature of the previous regimes in Jakania and that renewal required removing religious concerns from democratic debate. The evidence on Ozkan's personal religious beliefs is unclear. Although a critic of the role of religion in politics, his political programmes included improving access to the Book of Bliss in native Jakanian languages and he often spoke of the need for ordinary people to familiarise themselves with the religious text.

In the centuries since Ozkan's death, many of his political ideas have come to dominate political debate in Jakania. The country has been a democratic republic with a popularly elected leader for most of its history, despite periods of political instability. Explicitly Ozkanist political parties have not been uncommon. In recent centuries, secularism has become a fundamental issue of political importance in many Jakanian elections with parties constantly clashing over the role of Ahmadism in political life.

The above entry in the Journal of Political Ideologies was written by Volkan Sokullu, a Professor of Politics at Temiz Ozkan University.

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Originally written and posted by Jamescfm on 30 April 2020.