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ePaper created 2014-11-09, 13:16:45 | version 1.33.00
Reproduced by Australian Atatürk Cultural Centre Inc. 1 Foreword The centennial of the birth of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has become the occasion for many new examinations of his voluminous writings and speeches. In particular, analysis has focused on the question of whether his thought has continued relevance to problems of a period almost half a century after his own death. Although it has often been said that Atatürk's thought is particularly important because it is applicable to wider situations and problems than only those of his own country, this has seldom been documented in so vivid a way as in this compilation by the Turkish Social Anthropologist Gürbüz Tüfekçi. By distilling and organising central themes from Atatürk's words he has enabled us to focus on some of the most important central ideas which ran through them almost from the beginning of Atatürk's public career. It is notable, therefore, that perhaps the two themes which emerge most clearly through Tüfekçi’s presentation are ones which are indeed universal. The first is that healthy societies must be regarded concurrently as sets of freedoms and of responsibilities, and that both must be used well by governments and citizens alike in their relationships to each other. That is not only do governments have among their most important duties the assuring of freedom for all citizens, but the citizens in turn have the responsibility of using that freedom enhancing the welfare of the society as a whole. Individual freedom so exercised is one of the most enduring foundations of a nation which truly fulfils its people's highest aspirations. The second (and of course related) theme, which clearly visible in this compilation of Atatürk's sayings is the concurrent ındependence and interdependence of a nation's people. The desire for national and personal independence is one of the most basic human characteristics. But in the modern world interdependence on many new as well as many traditional dimensions has also become an ever-clearer fact. To make both governments and individuals cognisant of this duality is among the most important tasks, which a leader must perform. Many of the quotations, which Tüfekçi includes, are by now familiar to those who are acquainted with Atatürk's thought. Many others, however, are far less well known and are brought to light as a result of the thorough study, which Tüfekçi has made. If there is a format in which the truly universal aspect of Atatürk’s thought can be particularly well brought our, Tüfekçi has found it. It is a great pleasure for me to be able to help introduce it to the world-wide audience it well deserves. Walter F. Weiker Professor of Political Science Rutgers University Newark, New Jersey, USA [Professor Walker is President of the Turkish Studies Association of the United States. He has published several books on Turkey, including “The Modernisation of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day”.]