The Tale of Two Nations: Modernization Narratives of the Pro-State Iranian and Turkish Newspapers in the 1920s–1940s

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Çınar S. K., Jaberi M.

TURKISH STUDIES, vol.26, no.2, pp.357-390, 2025 (SSCI)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 26 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/14683849.2024.2430702
  • Journal Name: TURKISH STUDIES
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.357-390
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This article explores the narratives of modernization in Iran and Turkey from the 1920s to the 1940s by examining the pro-state Iranian Ettelaat and Koushesh newspapers and the Turkish Cumhuriyet and Ulus papers. The article covers approximately a total of 1000 issues of these newspapers and conducts novel archival research and thematic analyses to investigate the economic, sociocultural, and political/legal aspects of modernization and how these were spearheaded by the political elites of the time. The article is informed by Modernization and Selectorate theories and assesses the relevance and contribution of the Iranian and Turkish cases to these theories. To this end, the article underlines the importance of historical legacies in both countries and how these can create path-dependent stories of modernization and democratization in the respective nations as of today.