OSMANLI DEVLETİ’NDE YASAMA GELENEĞİNİN KURUMSAL TEMELLERİ: I. MEŞRUTİYET VE MECLİS-İ MEBUSAN (1876-1878)
THE INSTITUTIONAL GENESIS OF THE LEGISLATIVE TRADITION IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: THE FIRST CONSTITUTIONAL ERA AND THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES (1876-1878)

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the institutional foundations of the legislative tradition in the Ottoman Empire, focusing on the period between the emergence of specialized assemblies during the “Tanzimat” era and the proclamation of the First Constitutional Monarchy on December 23, 1876, within the context of historical continuity. The article argues that the Constitution (Kanun-ı Esasi) and the first Chamber of Deputies (Meclis-i Mebusan) did not emerge merely as a pragmatic result of external diplomatic pressure, such as that exerted at the Tersane Conference. This study states that the Constitution and the first Chamber of Deputies were a structural outcome of the Ottoman Empire’s internal bureaucratic reform process and the evolution of traditional “consultative” practices into a modern constitutional regime. In this context, the study provides an in-depth analysis of how the Islamic-liberal synthesis formulated by the Young Ottomans was reflected in the Constitution, as well as how central-provincial integration and the structure of a multi-ethnic empire influenced parliamentary representation. The study examines the ethnic, religious, and bureaucratic power balances within the Assembly by focusing on primary sources such as the minutes of the Assembly of Deputies, the draft constitutions proposed by Midhat, Said, and Süleyman Pasha, and other supplementary legal texts of the period. This study examines the historical origins, theoretical framework, and practical applications of the emergence of the legislative tradition during the First Constitutional Era, which is regarded as a formative period in the history of Turkish democracy. Furthermore, this study examines the positive contribution that consultation mechanisms in the Ottoman Empire made to the maturation of the constitutional form of government and the process of drafting constitutional texts, from the perspective of the institutional foundations of the legislative tradition. Based on these analyses, it is argued that although the first parliamentary experiment was short-lived due to power struggles between the executive and legislative branches, it laid an irreversible foundation for the development of civic consciousness and political participation centered on the concept of “Ottoman identity” within Ottoman political culture.

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