Political Socialization in Turkestan: The Theoretical and Historical Foundations of the Jadid Movement

This article analyzes the Jadid movement in Turkestan from the perspective of modern political socialization theory. The study aims to theoretically and historically substantiate Jadidism not merely as a movement for enlightenment or educational reform, but as a national model of political socialization aimed at shaping civic consciousness, political culture, and national identity. To achieve this aim, particular attention is given to the role of key institutions of the Jadid movement – including new-method schools, the national press, theatre, textbooks, and educational activities – in the process of political socialization. The study also comparatively examines the mechanisms of political depoliticization implemented during the periods of Tsarist Russian and Soviet rule.
Historical-comparative analysis, source criticism and historical-critical analysis, content analysis, political communication, and conceptual approaches based on political socialization theory were employed in the research. Archival documents, Jadid periodicals, textbooks, journalistic works, as well as contemporary local and international scholarly literature served as the primary sources for the analysis.
Findings demonstrate that the Jadids regarded schools, the press, theatre, and books as major social institutions for developing critical thinking, legal culture, national self-awareness, and civic responsibility among the population. Particular attention was also paid to the technologies of political depoliticization implemented during the Tsarist Russian and Soviet periods through education, censorship, control over information flows, and propaganda.
The study concludes that the Jadid movement emerged as the earliest national model of political socialization in Turkestan. Its core principles – quality education, a free information environment, a national press, critical thinking, and the development of civic responsibility – retain their theoretical and practical significance in today’s digital information environment. Reinterpreting the Jadid movement within the framework of political socialization theory contributes to existing scholarship and offers a new conceptual approach to Jadid studies.