The ‘happy revolution’ in the Ottoman Empire: emotions, politics, and morality, 1908-09

This study examines the emotional landscape of the period between 1908 and 1909 by drawing particularly on the pro-Unionist periodicals published in Ottoman Turkish to unveil how happiness led a paradigmatic shift in the morality and politics of the late Ottoman Empire. As the study argues, happiness, which had gradually emerged as a legitimate aim of governance during the nineteenth century, gained unprecedented emotional resonance in periodicals following the restoration of the constitution in 1908. The significant role of happiness was revealed in the formation and organization of the public sphere through celebrations, ceremonies and collective effervescence. Furthermore, the feeling of happiness was attempted to be transposed onto the very fabric of society by the intelligentsia engaged with the progressive and secular philosophy of the Enlightenment. Ultimately, by tracing the reflections of happiness in the late Ottoman Empire and situating them within the global debates, this article discusses how happiness became a significant pillar of political agency and progressivism during the first year of the Second Constitutional period.