Understanding the Impact of the Wealth Tax of 1942 on the Non-Muslim Middle Class in Istanbul: Class Formation, Proteges and Foreign Citizenship

ERGÜDER B.

JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/19448953.2025.2557680
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Historical Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, Index Islamicus, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The study aims to explore the impact of the wealth tax on the middle class in terms of the differences provided by citizenship rights, which are effective in class formation. Based on a qualitative content analysis of the British Embassy archives, the study reveals that the tax affected the non-Muslim middle classes of Istanbul as much as it did non-Muslim businesspeople. One of the most significant effects of the tax on the middle classes was the change it caused to employment in Istanbul's service sector. The tax caused the non-Muslim middle classes to lose their jobs. Fifteen years after its introduction, the tax impacted the emigration of non-Muslim citizens.