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Totalitarianism In World War 2

Decent Essays

Liberalism/Totalitarian essay for Mahmud II
Thomas Jefferson once said, “The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors” (McAdam np). In a totalitarian system, however, this is often not the case. Because it requires complete subservience from its citizens and focus primarily on power, a totalitarian government does not, if fact, exist for the interests of the people. Mahmud II’s various policies reveal his totalitarian tendencies regarding issues both foreign and domestic.
Mahmud’s domestic policies were influenced by his military failures. After a long string of defeats, he decided to abolish military fiefs for …show more content…

Mahmud did everything he could to stop the Greeks from gaining their freedom but was ultimately unsuccessful. During the Greek War, Mahmud allied his Ottomans with the Egyptians, and was regaining control until he was defeated by a fleet from Russia, France and Britain. Outraged by his defeat, Mahmud turned and declared war on Russia. His Ottomans were again defeated, forcing him to recognize the need for military reforms. Fighting in multiple wars and recklessly declaring war against Russia demonstrate the totalitarian characteristics “increased state military power”, along with “imperial conquest and authoritarian rule over the colonized.” Interestingly, repeated failure on the battlefield did not stop him from trading with European nations later in his …show more content…

His strategies were largely unsuccessful, and he left the throne with much less than when he took it. Even within his empire he was viewed negatively, as emphasized by this quote from The story of the Greatest Nations, where it says, “His career has been mocked at by his own people who have hated his innovations; his purposes had been foiled by foes whose subtlety dug deeper than his own; and he had brought his throne to what seemed hopeless ruin” (Ellis 15). He constantly was trying to increase state, government and military power. Mahmud’s reign shows that

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