Sociology in Turkey in the context of "Ziya Gökalp"

The Young Turks (Ottoman Turkish: ژون تركلر, romanized: Jön Türkler, also كنج تركلر Genç Türkler) formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876–1909). The most powerful organisation within the movement, and the most conflated, was the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, founded in 1889), though its ideology, strategies, and membership continuously changed. By the 1890s, the Young Turks were mainly a loose and contentious network of exiled intelligentsia who made a living by selling their newspapers to secret subscribers. Beyond opposition, exiled writers and sociologists debated Turkey's place in the East–West dichotomy.

Included in the opposition movement was a mosaic of ideologies, represented by democrats, liberals, decentralists, secularists, social Darwinists, technocrats, constitutional monarchists, and nationalists. Despite being called "the Young Turks", the group was of an ethnically diverse background; including Turks, Albanian, Aromanian, Arab, Armenian, Azeri, Circassian, Greek, Kurdish, and Jewish members. Besides membership in outlawed political committees, other avenues of opposition existed in the ulama, Sufi lodges, and masonic lodges. By and large, Young Turks favored taking power away from Yıldız Palace in favour of constitutional governance. The movement was popular especially among young, educated Ottomans and military officers that wanted reforms. They believed that a social contract in the form of a constitution would fix the empire's problems with nationalist movements and foreign intervention by instilling Ottomanism, or multi-cultural Ottoman nationalism.

Sultanzade Mehmed Sabahaddin (13 February 1879 – 30 June 1948) was an Ottoman prince, sociologist, and intellectual. Because of his threat to the ruling House of Osman, of which he was a member, and his political activity and push for democracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he was exiled. He was one of the founders of the short-lived Liberty Party.

Although part of the ruling Ottoman dynasty through his mother, Seniha Sultan, Sabahaddin was known as a Young Turk and was opposed to the absolute rule of Abdul Hamid II. As a follower of Émile Durkheim, Sabahaddin is considered to be one of the founders of sociology in Turkey, influencing thinkers such as Le Play. He established several organizations which advocated for decentralization and privatization: The Private Initiative and Decentralization Committee (Turkish: Teşebbüs-i Şahsi ve Adem-i Merkeziyet Cemiyeti) in 1902, the Liberty Party in 1908, and the Freedom and Accord Party in 1911. All of these organizations were the main opposition to the Committee of Union and Progress. His world views are considered to be the basis of Turkish center-right politics.