A new ruling clique, the Young Turks,…

A new ruling clique, the Young Turks, takes power in Istanbul in 1908.

The Young Turks, who aim at making the Ottoman Empire a unified nation-state based on Western models, stress secular politics and patriotism over the pan-Islamic ideology preached by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

They reintroduce the 1876 constitution (this Ottoman constitution sets forth the rights of the ruler and the ruled, but it derives from the ruler and has been called at best an "attenuated autocracy"), hold elections throughout the empire, and reopen parliament.

Although the Iraqi delegates represent only the well-established families of Baghdad, their parliamentary experience in Istanbul proves to be an important introduction to self-government.