Militarization and the Gendered Family Politics of Care in the Ottoman First World War

This paper explores how 19th century military reform had massive consequences for the Ottoman social order that profoundly shaped World War I in the Ottoman Empire. Drawing upon a critical reading of Ottoman civil and military archives and legal codes, the paper shows that, for nearly a century between 1826 and 1913, Ottoman military officials worked to craft policies to effectively manage the balance between mobilization of a conscript army, agricultural labor, and family. Each of these policy interventions pivoted around the dichotomy between men who were sole breadwinners (muinsiz) and those who were non-breadwinners (muinli). Throughout the 19^th century, Ottoman mobilizations tested the limits of the state’s ability to mobilize men who were classified as sole breadwinners. Over time, Ottoman officials’ attempts to secure the delicate balance of mobilization, labor and family gave way to a unitary focus on military readiness. This paper argues that this process of militarization saw the transfer of the burden of military mobilization—and care in particular—to society, via the family. These policies had a purely military character and did not constitute direct care for care’s sake, but instead instrumentalized notions of care to facilitate the mobilization of manpower. Military reform in the Late Ottoman Empire drew upon repertoires of care to extract military labor while transferring the costs and consequences of militarization and war to Ottoman families—and women in particular, a process which would intensify in the decades leading up to World War I and lay the groundwork for the immense suffering and strategic challenges of the Ottoman First World War. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates how situating World War I in its long 19th century context provides a new interpretation of why the Ottoman war was so catastrophic even as the Ottomans were able to fight for so long.