"The Modern History of Turkey" is characterized by sweeping political changes and rapid development in all aspects of economic, social, and cultural life. The book - the first comprehensive study of the subject that has been appearing in international literature for a long time - combines the two central issues of Turkey's integration into the capitalist world and the modernization of the state and society.
"The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, which describes the initial phase of the emergence of modern Turkey in the 19th century, the increasing influence of Europe on the Ottoman Empire and the reactions it caused in the Ottoman state and society are considered the most significant developments (...)
The second part of the book focuses on the activities of the Young Turks. This group of bureaucrats and officials with a modern education organized the constitutional revolution of 1908, aiming to modernize and strengthen the state and society according to a positivist and increasingly nationalist ideology. The fact that the second part covers the period 1908-1950 reflects the belief that, despite the dissolution of the Empire in 1918 and the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, one can discern a continuity politically, ideologically, and economically (...)
The third part of the book, titled "A Troubled Democracy," deals with the period after 1950. The title is justified. In contrast to the period of the Young Turks, it is mostly an era of real democratic pluralism and increased mass participation in politics. At the same time, it is a period marked by three military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), while from the late 1960s onwards, the Turkish parliamentary democracy is constantly under attack from both the left and the right (...)
The book claims the title of modern history because it precisely attempts to present a comprehensive picture of Turkey's history in the last two hundred years, emphasizing both social and economic developments as well as political and ideological ones."
(From the author's introduction)
The Greek edition is released simultaneously with the new, expanded and revised English edition of 2004, which follows the recent developments in Turkey until the formation of the Erdogan government.