Presented in this volume are essays and surveys examining elements of continuity within the context of the broad changes that have marked the history of modern Turkey. The establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 represented a fresh start after the demise of the Ottoman Empire that had spanned the medieval and the modern times, but had become too outdated to cope with the complexities of the industrialized world. Although the Republic was meant to shed the burden of the past in order to meet the challenges of the contemporary era as a modern nation-state, it nevertheless inherited a great deal from the rich civilization of the Ottoman period. Over the last sixty years modern Turkey has been standing up to the challenges of the increasingly demanding and fast changing world of the twentieth century. The fact that it has been able to do so is in no small measure due to its adherence to the principles of evolution and development to keep pace with contemporary civilization. And it is the adherence to these principles that have provided a continuity along with flexibility in social, economic, political, legal, administrative and diplomatie spheres, which are discussed by the contributors to this volume.

For the first time, the continuity of Ottoman culture in contemporary Turkey is discussed, by a group of well-known scholars of Ottoman-Turkish history and society. The insightful essays provide not only original knowledge, but also new interpretations concerning ethnicity and state involvement in identity creation.

Gradually since 2003, Turkey's autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to make Turkey a great power -- in the tradition of past Turkish leaders from the late Ottoman sultans to Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Here the leading authority Soner Cagaptay, author of The New Sultan -- the first biography of President Erdogan -- provides a masterful overview of the power politics in the Middle East and Turkey's place in it. Erdogan has picked an unorthodox model in the context of recent Turkish history, attempting to cast his country as a stand-alone Middle Eastern power. In doing so Turkey has broken ranks with its traditional Western allies, including the United States and has embraced an imperial-style foreign policy which has aimed to restore Turkey's Ottoman-era reach into the Arabian Middle East and the Balkans. Today, in addition to a domestic crackdown on dissent and journalistic freedoms, driven by Erdogan's style of governance, Turkey faces a hostile world. Ankara has nearly no friends left in the Middle East, and it faces a threat from resurgent historic adversaries: Russia and Iran. Furthermore, Turkey cannot rely on the unconditional support of its traditional Western allies. Can Erdogan deliver Turkey back to safety? What are the risks that lie ahead for him, and his country? How can Turkey truly become a great power, fulfilling a dream shared by many Turks, the sultans, Ataturk, and Erdogan himself?

The first comprehensive history of the Turkish economy The population and economy of the area within the present-day borders of Turkey has consistently been among the largest in the developing world, yet there has been no authoritative economic history of Turkey until now. In Uneven Centuries, Şevket Pamuk examines the economic growth and human development of Turkey over the past two hundred years. Taking a comparative global perspective, Pamuk investigates Turkey’s economic history through four periods: the open economy during the nineteenth-century Ottoman era, the transition from empire to nation-state that spanned the two world wars and the Great Depression, the continued protectionism and import-substituting industrialization after World War II, and the neoliberal policies and the opening of the economy after 1980. Making use of indices of GDP per capita, trade, wages, health, and education, Pamuk argues that Turkey’s long-term economic trends cannot be explained only by immediate causes such as economic policies, rates of investment, productivity growth, and structural change. Uneven Centuries offers a deeper analysis of the essential forces underlying Turkey’s development—its institutions and their evolution—to make better sense of the country’s unique history and to provide important insights into the patterns of growth in developing countries during the past two centuries.

Textbook providing a thorough assessment of the political, social and economic processes which led to the formation of a new Turkey; socio-economic change is emphasised throughout.

Turkey at the Crossroadsexamines the country's attempts at modernization, from the Ottomans in the 19th century to the Kemalist Republic and the current day. The book argues that in order to fully achieve the level of modernization and democratization that will enable itto become a regional power, Turkey must first confront its authoritarian legacy of Ottoman imperial and political culture. Examining current ideological and political conflicts, the authors discuss a range of obstacles posed to future opportunities--especially that of the Kemalist ruling elite and its politically influential military.

This book collects Serif Mardin’s seminal essays written throughout the span of his prolific career. Comprising some of the author’s finest and most incisive writings, these essays deal with the historical background, political travails, and socioeconomic metamorphosis of Turkey during a century of modernization. With his characteristic sophistication and breadth of vision, Mardin provides readers with a remarkably objective analysis of ideology, civil society, religion, urban life, and violence in late Ottoman and Republican Turkey. Mardin moves easily from sociological topics on violence and class-consciousness to the history of the Ottoman Empire, and the philosophy and culture of modern Turkey within the greater Middle East. These influential pieces—collected for the first time in one volume—represent an invaluable addition to the field of Middle East studies.