Q) Confessionalism vs secretarianism

Religious sects in Leb- There are 18 officially recognized religious groups. These include four Muslim groups (Shia, Sunni,
Alawites and Ismaili), 12 Christian groups (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, and 10 smaller groups), Druze, and Jews.

Confessionalism, in a religious sense, is a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious
teaching. Confessionalists believe that differing interpretations or understandings, especially those in direct opposition to a held
teaching, cannot be accommodated within a church communion.
HISTORY OF WORD- Historically, the term confessionalism for the first time was used in mid-19th century.
The phenomenon of confessionalism and the term “confession”, from which the term confessionalism derived, is much older,
referring to ones individual belief, then collective belief. In the 16th and 17th centuries the term confession was only used for
the documents of belief while the religious communities of Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists were referred to as
“religious parties”, different “religions” or “churches” - not as confessions. In the late 18th century the term confession started
to expand to religious bodies sharing a common creed. The international Congress of Vienna in 1815 still didn’t use the term
confession to mark different Christian denominations. Labelling Christian groups “confessions” implied a certain degree of civil
progress and tolerance, accepting that other parties also claimed absolute truth. The Roman Catholic Church refused to
consider itself as merely a confession. The term confession in different languages implies different notions (faith or
denomination in English, croyance, culte, communauté religieuse in French). Nowadays confessionalism is of minor relevance in
European state churches. It rose to importance in the early 19th century and vanished in the 1960s. This is why some scholars
talk about this time-period as a "second confessional age", comparing the dimensions of confessionalism with the "first
confessional age".
CONFESSIONALISM IN LEBANON- In Lebanon, the concept of confessionalism holds an important political meaning, since
political power and governmental bureaucracy are organized according to religious confessions (as it happened in Switzerland,
Germany, the Netherlands and other countries before). For example, the National Pact (an unwritten covenant) and later the
Taif Agreement provide for a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shia Muslim speaker of
parliament. This is an example of political confessionalism.
The repartition of assembly seats on a confessional basis in the Middle East was invented by the Ottoman Empire (e.g. in the
Ottoman Parliament) and continued in several post-Ottoman countries with reserved seats for non-Muslim, namely Christian,
minorities (Syria, Jordan, Iraq), or for all religious communities including Muslim subgroups and Christian churches (Lebanon).
more than eighty years later, confessionalism remains the system of government implemented in Lebanon. All posts in
government and seats in the legislature are apportioned amongst different religious groups according to a political agreement, as
the relative demographic weight of those groups is unknown.[3] The constitution of 1926, amended after the Taif Agreement of
1990 and the Doha agreement of 2008 specified that there should be 54 Christian deputies and 54 Muslim deputies, even though
in practice there are 64 deputies each. The Lebanese constitution also guarantees segmental autonomy to 18 recognized
communities in the country in domains such as education. [6] Lebanon also presents other characteristics of confessionalism. Since
2005 Lebanese politics has been polarized around two trans-religious coalitions [7] with the majority never able to govern alone.
CONTROVERSY- The idea of confessionalism can generate considerable controversy. Some Christian denominations, particularly
newer ones, focus more on the "experience" of Christianity than on its formal doctrines, and are accused by confessionalists of
adopting a vague and unfocused form of religion. Anti-confessionalists, declaring that the confessionalist view of religion is too
narrow and that people should be able to seek religion in their own way. Confessionalists generally counter that the "spirit and
values" of any given faith cannot be attained without first knowing truth as given in formal dogmas.

SECRETARIANISM
Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they
live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo and if one group
holds more power within the government. Often, not all members of these groups are engaged in the conflict. But as tensions rise,
political solutions require the participation of more people from either side within the country or polity where the conflict is
happening. Common examples of these divisions are denominations of a religion, ethnic identity, class, or region for citizens of a
state and factions of a political movement.
While sectarianism is often labelled as 'religious' and/ or 'political', the reality of a sectarian situation is usually much more
complex.

LEB
Lebanon is an eastern Mediterranean country that has the most religiously diverse society within the Middle East, comprising 18
recognized religious sects.[3][4] The primary religions are Islam (Sunni, Shia, and a small number of Alawites and Ismailis) and
Christianity (the Maronite Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Protestantism, the Armenian
Apostolic Church). The Druze are about 5% of the citizens.[5] Outside of Lebanon, Lebanese people (including diaspora) are
mostly Christians.[6][7] It is also estimated that a large proportion of its population are refugees (1.5 million out of a bit over 6
million in 2017), which affects statistics.[3] The refugees, mostly Syrian or Palestinian, are predominantly Sunni but also include
Christians and Shia.[3]
Lebanon differs from other Middle East countries where Muslims are the overwhelming majority, and more closely resembles
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania; both in Southeastern Europe, in having a diverse mix of Muslims and Christians that each
make up a large proportion of the country's population. Christians were once a majority inside Lebanon and are still a majority in
the diaspora of the nearly 14 million Lebanese people living outside of Lebanon. The president of the country is traditionally a
Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.

DEF OF SEC IN LEB- Sectarianism in Lebanon refers to the formal and informal organization of Lebanese politics and
society along religious lines. It has been formalized and legalized within state and non-state institutions and is inscribed in
its constitution. Lebanon recognizes 18 different .These include four Muslim groups (Shia, Sunni, Alawites and Ismaili),
12 Christian groups (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, and 10 smaller groups), Druze, and Jews.
The foundations of sectarianism in Lebanon date back to the mid-19th century during Ottoman rule. It was subsequently
reinforced with the creation of the Republic of Lebanon in 1920 and its 1926 constitution and in the National Pact of 1943.
Sectarianism shapes Lebanese society on different levels. At the political level, distribution of key state figures and parliamentary
seats is done on confessional basis. Also, parties are often organized along confessional lines. Partly due to the state's inability to
provide the necessary services, parties and sects provide welfare services to the population, recreating sectarian divide at the
societal level. The sectarian affiliation may also shape the access to economic opportunities depending on which group controls
the area or sector. Finally, family law is determined by confessional community, with difficulties in entering an inter-faith
marriage.

Q) WHY DON’T WE CALL THE OTTOMANS TURKS?

WHY IS IT NOT ACCURATE TO CALL THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TURKISH?

The Ottoman Empire was one of the mightiest and longest-lasting dynasties in world history. This Islamic-run superpower
ruled large areas of the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa for more than 600 years. The chief leader, known as
the Sultan, was given absolute religious and political authority over his people. While Western Europeans generally viewed
them as a threat, many historians regard the Ottoman Empire as a source of great regional stability and security

The Ottoman Empire ruled in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, and Turkey was right in the
middle of it all. Prior to that, present-day Turkey was part of the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire.

The Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 - in opposition to the Ottoman Empire.The modern Republic of Turkey cannot
be the Ottoman Empire, because it was founded after the Ottoman Empire. In succession to it, yes. But not in direct continuation
of the former polity, as the Sultanate was abolished by the new Turkish parliament in 1922. There was a break which led to the
establishment of modern Turkey. Turkey is not the Ottoman Empire. All instutions, economical system and government system
of Ottoman Empire actually ended after WWI and legally ended at October 29 1923. Founder of the Modern Turkey was
sentenced to death by Ottoman Sultan but after the Turkish National Independent War, Sultan and his crew abandoned the capital
and legally accepted that the Empire ended. Turkey was a brand new country and all instutions of the country is totally adopted to
the modern world despite the Ottoman Empire. All poltics, military organizaton and diplomatic perspective completely changed.
Seljuks were not Ottomans and Turkey is not Ottoman Empire.

Turkey today is the 4th biggest producer of vegetables and the 10th biggest producer of fruit. It is industrialized). Turkey’s
culture today is mostly influenced by Europe. It is the pinnacle of the Islamic world.

Q) Rise of ottoman empire

1517, Bayezid’s son, Selim I, brought Syria, Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt under Ottoman control.
The Ottoman Empire reached its peak between 1520 and 1566, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. This period was
marked by great power, stability and wealth.
Suleiman created a uniform system of law and welcomed different forms of arts and literature. Many Muslims considered
Suleiman a religious leader as well as a political ruler.
It is believed that the Ottoman Empire was able to grow so rapidly because other countries were weak and unorganized, and also
because the Ottomans had advanced military organization and tactics for the time. In the 1500s, the Ottoman Empire's expansion
continued with the defeat of the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria in 1517, Algiers in 1518, and Hungary in 1526 and 1541. In
addition, parts of Greece also fell under Ottoman control in the 1500s. During the reign of Sulayman I, the Turkish judicial
system was reorganized and Turkish culture began to grow significantly. Following Sulayman I's death, the empire began to lose
power when its military was defeated during the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Q) FALL OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Throughout the rest of the 1500s and into the 1600s and 1700s, the Ottoman Empire began a considerable decline in power
after several military defeats. In the mid-1600s, the empire was restored for a short time after military victories in Persia and
Venice. In 1699, the empire again began to lose territory and power subsequently.
In the 1700s, the Ottoman Empire began to rapidly deteriorate following the Russo-Turkish Wars. A series of treaties created
during that time caused the empire to lose some of its economic independence. The Crimean War, which lasted from 1853 to
1856, further exhausted the struggling empire. In 1856, the independence of the Ottoman Empire was recognized by the
Congress of Paris but it was still losing its strength as a European power.
In the late 1800s, there were several rebellions and the Ottoman Empire continued to lose territory. Political and social
instability in the 1890s created international negativity toward the empire. The Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and uprisings by
Turkish nationalists further reduced the empire's territory and increased instability. Following the end of World War I, the
Ottoman Empire officially came to an end with the Treaty of Sevres.

Q) base superstructure approach to history linked to the longue duree

Base and superstructure are two linked theoretical concepts developed by Karl Marx, one of sociology's founders. Base refers
to the production forces, or the materials and resources, that generate the goods society needs. Superstructure describes all
other aspects of society.
In Marxist theory, society consists of two parts: the base and superstructure. The base refers to the mode of production which
includes the forces and relations of production into which people enter to produce the necessities and amenities of life. The
superstructure refers to society's other relationships and ideas not directly relating to production including its culture,
institutions, political power structures, roles, religion, media, and state. The superstructure can affect the base. However the
influence of the base is predominant.
Freudo-Marxism and sex-economy
Freudo-Marxist Wilhelm Reich's discipline of analysis known as sex economy is an attempt to understand the divergence of the
perceived base and superstructure that occurred during the global economic crisis from 1929 to 1933.[10] To make sense of this
phenomenon, Reich recategorized social ideology as an element in the base—not the superstructure. In this new categorization,
social ideology and social psychology is a material process that self-perpetuates, the same way economic systems in the base
perpetuate themselves. Reich focused on the role of sexual repression in the patriarchal family system as a way to understand
how mass support for Fascism could arise in a society.

Can the base be separated from the superstructure?

John Plamenatz makes two counterclaims regarding the clear-cut separation of the base and superstructure. The first is that
economic structure is independent from production in many cases, with relations of production or property also having a strong
effect on production.[13] The second claim is that relations of production can only be defined with normative terms—this implies
that social life and humanity's morality cannot be truly separated as both are defined in a normative sense

Link between superstructure and Base

Society's superstructure includes the culture, ideology, norms, and identities that people inhabit. In addition, it refers to the social
institutions, political structure, and the state—or society's governing apparatus. Marx argued that the superstructure grows out of
the base and reflects the ruling class' interests. As such, the superstructure justifies how the base operates and defends the power
of the elite.

Neither the base nor the superstructure is naturally occurring or static. They are both social creations, or the accumulation of
constantly evolving social interactions between people.