The Ottoman Empire’s Escalation from Reforms to the Armenian Genocide, 1908–1915

Abstract

This chapter begins with variation across time in the Ottoman treatment of its Armenian population between 1908 and 1915, when the Young Turk regime went from accommodating the Armenians in 1908 to seeking their wholesale forcible removal from Ottoman territory during World War I, leading to genocide. The chapter aims to understand the factors that led to the Ottoman genocide of Armenians, but it is certainly not to suggest that such strategic decisions are moral or excusable under any circumstances. It examines the implications of the increased external vulnerability brought about by Turkey's involvement in World War I in the escalation the Armenians faced. The chapter then investigates how the Young Turks treatment of Armenians changed dramatically, with two factors relating to external security especially relevant. It also outlines the two interpretations on what transpired between the Ottoman state and its Armenian nation. The chapter argues that the external security considerations for the Ottoman state were the crucial driving variable for the escalation from its accommodationist policy to widespread slaughter.