AHC: Surviving Ottoman Empire

Dorozhand

Banned
The most straightforward way to so this is to have an early Central Powers victory in the first world war. I would say that the Ottoman Empire has a decent chance of surviving to the present day if this occurs. Even if subsequent events are detrimental, the empire will still have the cohesiveness to hold out at least in Anatolia, and likely in Iraq. If before Lawrence and his havoc, Arabia will also stay.

I see this as the last chance the empire has to survive to the present.
 
The Soviet Union was essentially a multi national empire surviving well into the 20th century. In the end the economy killed off the country not nationalities, the lack of economic sustainability lead to resurfacing of nationalism that previously was previously kept at bay. Yugoslavia is another good example. So oil doesn't = success but giving the Ottomans time to exploit it increases there success rate exponentially, sure there was Turk & Arab nationalism but there was also Russian & Ukrainian nationalism in the Soviet Union and Serb & Coat nationalism in Yugoslavia.
 

Esopo

Banned
The Soviet Union was essentially a multi national empire surviving well into the 20th century. In the end the economy killed off the country not nationalities, the lack of economic sustainability lead to resurfacing of nationalism that previously was previously kept at bay. Yugoslavia is another good example. So oil doesn't = success but giving the Ottomans time to exploit it increases there success rate exponentially, sure there was Turk & Arab nationalism but there was also Russian & Ukrainian nationalism in the Soviet Union and Serb & Coat nationalism in Yugoslavia.

The soviet union was kept togheter by an ideology which expressely denied nationalism. When communism died, also nationalism revived. In the ottoman empire islamism could fill that role, but could also fail to do that.
 

Dorozhand

Banned
The soviet union was kept togheter by an ideology which expressely denied nationalism. When communism died, also nationalism revived. In the ottoman empire islamism could fill that role, but could also fail to do that.

If the central powers had an early victory in the first world war, I can see a triumvirate of oil wealth, regained prestige, and Islamism (especially with the Ottoman Sultan being a Caliph) keeping the empire together. The really imperative element, I think, would be victory in the war, as this would greatly bolster the Empire's popularity. Plus, there would be German aid, as Germany would have a definite interest in a strong Ottoman Empire as an ally, especially after the oil is discovered.
 
If the Ottoman Empire was on the victorious side in the First World War, it definitely would have survived. The victory would have provided the fuel for the survival and the discovery of oil would have insured the future. Even if it had remained neutral the chances of survival existed. The future rise of Islamism would have helped the Empire. But it is also a fact that the dissolution of the Caliphate was one of the major reasons for the rise of Islamism. Whether the Ottoman Empire could have upheld the force of Islamism against the challenges of Arab as well as Turkish nationalisms is a matter of debate. It must also be remembered that Arab Nationalism did not succeed in unifying the Arab world or preventing the inter-state strife among the Arabs.
 
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