Politico-religious Imperialism

Abstract This article examines the French religious protectorate as a pivotal instrument of European rivalry within the Ottoman Empire. Initially intended to safeguard foreign nationals, these privileges became mechanisms for asserting imperial influence and undermining Ottoman sovereignty. Focusing on the late nineteenth century, the study analyzes how France deployed religious diplomacy to advance political, economic, and cultural objectives despite domestic anticlericalism, and how Germany’s interventions, exemplified by the 1898 report of Ambassador Marschall von Bieberstein, recalibrated these dynamics. By reconceptualizing protectorates and capitulations as central tools of Great Power competition, the article sheds new light on the intersection of religion and geopolitics in the Ottoman context and the broader trajectory of European imperial rivalries.