The Remaking of Republican Turkey: Memory and Modernity since the Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Turkey's foreign relations and domestic politics underwent a significant transformation between 1945 and 1960, with the birth of a multi-party democracy and NATO membership. This book by Nicholas L. Danforth explores how these transformations helped consolidate a consensus on the nature of Turkish modernity, shaping current political and cultural debates. It reveals the nuanced and paradoxical ways that secular modernizers and Islamist critics deployed Turkey's clichés about East and West, tradition and modernity, to advance their agendas.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 261 pages
Publication date: 14 July 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Between 1945 and 1960, a significant transformation occurred in Turkey's foreign relations and domestic politics, marked by the birth of a multi-party democracy and NATO membership. This period saw Turkish politicians, intellectuals, and voters reevaluate their country's relationship with its past and its future, aiming to facilitate democratization. As a result, a new alliance with the United States was formed. In his book, Nicholas L. Danforth explores how these transformations consolidated a consensus on the nature of Turkish modernity, which continues to shape current political and cultural debates. He delves into the nuanced and often paradoxical ways in which secular modernizers and their Islamist critics deployed Turkey's famous clichés about East and West, tradition, and modernity to advance their respective agendas. Drawing on a diverse array of published and archival sources, Danforth offers a comprehensive exploration of the relationship between democracy, diplomacy, modernity, Westernization, Ottoman historiography, and religion in mid-century Turkey.

Between 1945 and 1960, a significant transformation occurred in Turkey's foreign relations and domestic politics, marked by the birth of a multi-party democracy and NATO membership. This period saw Turkish politicians, intellectuals, and voters reevaluate their country's relationship with its past and its future, aiming to facilitate democratization. As a result, a new alliance with the United States was formed. In his book, Nicholas L. Danforth explores how these transformations consolidated a consensus on the nature of Turkish modernity, which continues to shape current political and cultural debates. He delves into the nuanced and often paradoxical ways in which secular modernizers and their Islamist critics deployed Turkey's famous clichés about East and West, tradition, and modernity to advance their respective agendas. Drawing on a diverse array of published and archival sources, Danforth offers a comprehensive exploration of the relationship between democracy, diplomacy, modernity, Westernization, Ottoman historiography, and religion in mid-century Turkey.

Weight: 356g
ISBN-13: 9781108978200