Antique shops in Turkey’s major cities are booming as the revival of Ottomanism continues. Tuðras, berats calligraphic scripts in Ottoman, the Ottoman coat of arms, postcards from Ottoman times -- simply anything that has the crescent and the star or any Ottoman symbol on it -- is worth respectable amounts of money.

The Ýstanbul bourgeoisie, in particular, pay a handsome price for original pieces of Ottoman art. Their offices are decorated with maps of the Ottoman Empire, and their luxurious houses boast significant collections of Ottoman artistry. Ankara’s elite is also quietly stocking up on the long-forgotten Ottoman heritage. Paintings of Sultan Mehmet II are as popular as that of Mustafa Kemal. Ottomania is in full swing with the Turkish elite, reflecting the determined revival of a culture long denied and discredited by the Turkish Republic.

The revival of Ottomanism among the Turkish elite signifies two parallel trends. First, it challenges the positivist-modernist republican narrative of Turkish history, which is based on a “rejection of heritage” (red-i miras) and thus traditionally distances itself from anything Ottoman. In this respect, Ottomanism reflects a certain amount of self confidence as its outlook is not merely national but regional and legitimizes Turkish outreach to a distinctly Ottoman geopolitical space. This sort of intellectual vein in foreign policy is most aptly represented by Ahmet Davutoðlu and his disciples.

Second, it generates a significant amount of tension with the nationalist-paranoid upsurge, which is extremely suspicious and feels threatened by the impact of globalization and Turkey’s EU drive. This tension is most visible in the foreign policy field as well as on issues such as further democratization of Turkey. While the neo-Ottoman streak favors normalization with Arabs, Muslims and Kurds as Ottoman cosmopolitanism allows it to do, the other camp feverishly resists such a rapprochement and views it with stark skepticism.

From a liberal perspective, neo-Ottoman thinking, particularly within a domestic political context, is more progressive. This is most visibly demonstrated by the fact that most Muslim Democrats (Justice and Development Party members) tend to embrace neo-Ottoman thinking. These elements favor a more open, transparent and democratic Turkey and thus challenge the status quo.

Of course, most of the intellectual battles take place in interpreting Turkish history. While Sultan Abdülhamit represents all possible evil and backwardness for the republicans, he is an enlightened and visionary leader for the neo-Ottomans. The neo-Ottomans also have it easier to deal with the Armenian issue, while the republicans are staunchly against any compromise on the Armenian issue. The neo-Ottomans also have less difficulty in understanding Turkey’s Kurdish citizens. More recent history is even more contentious.

Another stark contrast is to be seen in the conceptualization of our foreign policy. While the neo-Ottoman outlook naturally embraces the Ottoman geopolitical space and has no qualms about being a proactive actor in this geography, the traditionally conservative foreign policy establishment remains reluctant to come out of the comfort of not being a significant player. There is no doubt that events in our immediate neighborhood have helped the neo-Ottomans to strengthen their case as areas of the Balkans, Black Sea, Caucasus and the Middle East have become hotspots where Turkey had to become more active. Yet the rise and rapid embrace of neo-Ottoman thinking in foreign policy cannot be explained by the impact of events in our immediate neighborhood only.

The ascendancy of Ottomanism in Turkish society is likely to continue for some time. The challenge for Turkey followers will be to see whether neo-Ottomanism will be able to turn into a coherent and well-articulated ideology that will provide the intellectual legitimacy to transform Turkey both domestically and regionally. One thing is for certain though -- Osman is recovering and is on his way to being fully liberated from the prevalent ideological interpretation that did much injustice to him.