“Ataturk was successful in achieving his aims.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that Ataturk was successful in achieving his aims. The discussion of the success of the policies may extend beyond the timeframe but must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may refer to his defence and recovery of Turkish territory confirmed at the Treaty of Lausanne; his reforms to education and literacy; creation of a secular state which reduced religious authority and established women’s rights and a modern legal system; establishment of a democratic constitution leading to multi-party democracy; and the establishment of government enterprises which laid the foundation for Turkish industrialization. Candidates may consider how some of his reforms such as modernisation were seen as being too drastic in abolishing old traditions. His secularisation of the state also met protest. Overall, he created a progressive democracy with a modern sense of progress and nationalism. Candidates’ opinions and conclusions must be presented clearly and supported by relevant evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that Ataturk was successful in achieving his aims. This was a popular question and produced a number of good responses. Many students were aware of Ataturk's reform programme although not all of them were able to show an extensive breadth and depth of knowledge. Many responses were merely highly narrative descriptions of the changes he made. The stronger responses contained excellent content but also responded to the demands of the question by attempting to analyse the extent of his success; this was the key to an effective response.