When State Becomes the Mediator: Understanding the Roots of Inter-Ethnic Peace in the Ottoman Empire.

Exploring interethnic relations in the Ottoman Empire as a form of inter-ethnic peace is almost nonexistent in the literature on ethnic studies, or on a wider scale, in political science. This study, therefore, concentrates on the Ottoman millet practice as a state policy to monitor its multi-ethnic and multi-national people. It argues that an important yet often neglected point about the Ottoman Empire was its ability to maintain 'peace' and order among its multi-ethnic people for a considerable period of time through its millet practice. Rather than dismissing it as an epiphenomenon of state policies aimed at other purposes, this study argues that it is an accomplishment that deserves emphasis. While studying the Ottoman millet practice, this study pursues two related goals. First, it introduces the Ottoman Empire to the relevant bodies of literature on political science and sociology as a case that can provide additional insight about the dynamics of inter-ethnic relations. Second, it contends that even during its decay, the Ottoman center continued to act as a mediator between and within the existing ethnic groups through its millet policy. Consequently, this study offers the millet policy as a factor, which contributed to the long inter-ethnic peace in the Ottoman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]