Tracing European Influence in 19th Century Ottoman Administrative Thought: A Study on Administrative Texts

This article traces the development of modern administration literature in Turkey to the late 18th and 19th century Ottoman Empire, highlighting the influence of Western sources. Despite the impression that Turkey's development was uncritical and purely transmissive, efforts were made to adapt Western examples to Turkey's specific circumstances amidst political, economic, and administrative challenges. The article examines how Ottoman administrative texts written by ambassadors, translators, scholars, and bureaucrats interacted with Western administrative theories. These texts are analyzed in three parts: sefaretname and layihas, translations, and copyrighted books. The analysis covers the subjects, countries, and works cited in these texts, showing that the transmission of knowledge was assimilated and synthesized with institutionalization by the end of the century. While Western sources influenced Ottoman texts, this process involved adapting ideas to solve specific Ottoman administrative problems.