The Lausanne Conference : the evolution of Turkish and British diplomatic strategies, 1922-1923
By the end of the First World War the Ottoman Empire had been defeated and was in a state of disintegration. The Mudros Armistice which ended the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies in October 1918 was the final stage of this process; the Treaty of Sevres which followed the Armistice confirmed it. However, the National Independence Movement which emerged in Anatolia from the ruins of the Empire rejected the proposed peace terms and set itself up as an alternative government based at Ankara. It drew up the National Pact which set out the desiderata of the Nationalists, and it won a decisive victory over the Greeks who landed in Anatolia in 1919. This military victory made a peace conference imperative and enabled the Turks to negotiate peace terms with the Allies on an equal footing. The peace treaty which was signed at Lausanne on July 24, 1923 finalised the Turkish Peace Settlement, putting an end to the centuries-old Eastern Question. The object of this dissertation is to examine the motives and strategies of Britain and Turkey at the Lausanne Conference in their efforts to obtain the peace terms best suited to their interests. The focus throughout is on the factors influencing the attitude of
Demirci, Sevtap
Ottoman Empire
The Lausanne Conference : the evolution of Turkish and British diplomatic strategies, 1922-1923. By the end of the First World War the Ottoman Empire had been defeated and was in a state of disintegration. The Mudros Armistice which ended the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies in October 1918 was the final stage of this process; the Treaty of Sevres which followed the Armistice confirmed it. However, the National Independence Movement which emerged in Anatolia from the ruins of the Empire rejected the proposed peace terms and set itself up as an alternative government based at Ankara. It drew up the National Pact which set out the desiderata of the Nationalists, and it won a decisive victory over the Greeks who landed in Anatolia in 1919. This military victory made a peace conference imperative and enabled the Turks to negotiate peace terms with the Allies on an equal footing. The peace treaty which was signed at Lausanne on July 24, 1923 finalised the Turkish Peace Settlement, putting an end to the centuries-old Eastern Question. The object of this dissertation is to examine the motives and strategies of Britain and Turkey at the Lausanne Conference in their efforts to obtain the peace terms best suited to their interests. The focus throughout is on the factors influencing the attitude of
conference evolution turkish british diplomatic strategy end first world war ottoman_empire defeat state disintegration armistice end_war ottoman empire final_stage process treaty follow armistice confirm however national independence movement emerge anatolia ruin empire reject propose peace term set alternative government base drew national set decisive victory greeks land anatolia military victory make peace conference imperative enable turks negotiate peace term equal footing peace_treaty sign turkish peace settlement put end centuries old eastern question object examine motif strategy britain turkey conference effort obtain peace term best suit interest focus throughout factor_influence attitude