From the Birth of Universal Humanity to National Identity in Ottoman and Republican Thought: An Archeology of the Statement “My Nation Is Mankind, My Homeland Is the Earth” (1860s–1930s)

ABSTRACT In nineteenth‐century Ottoman thought, the idea of mankind emerged in response to state crisis and epistemic transformation. This article explores how Ottoman and Turkish intellectuals and statesmen conceptualized and redefined the idea of humanity—shaped by Orientalist discourses—through their engagement with Victor Hugo's statement: “to have the world as our homeland and humanity as our nation,” between the 1860s and 1930s. Beginning with Şinasi, who translated Hugo's statement in one of his odes as “My nation is mankind, my homeland is the earth” to articulate a new conception of humanity, this article traces the transformation of the idea of universal humanity and civilization through the intellectual discourse that emerged around this statement. Universal humanity and civilization, along with their Ottoman counterpart—Ottomanism—were regarded as mechanisms to integrate the population and convince them of the state's continuity. However, the global rejection of universalism, the occupation of Ottoman territories by Western powers, the Balkan Wars, the perception that non‐Muslims could not be convinced of Ottoman unity, and the rise of nationalism led to the marginalization of universal values and Ottomanism itself. Ultimately, the universal neo‐human came to represent the Turks, whereas the West became the “one‐toothed beast called ‘Civilization!’”