Synopses & Reviews
Turkey is a pivotal state whose domestic political, economic, and social developments have important implications across the globe. Here a leading Turkish political scientist enhances understanding of the interactions of liberal democracy with longstanding cultural cleavages along secular-religious lines, ethnicity, and social class. This work focuses on how the process of urbanization and industrialization has led to social mobilization and population movements from villages into the cities and how competition to control the state and its networks of patronage has made politics contentious and fragmented. Intertwined with Turkey's domestic political and economic dynamics are the influences of relations, including tensions, with important external actors.
Review
"A detailed, yet flowing account of modern Turkish history that successfully explains Turkey's uniqueness. Discussing the country's imperial history, dynamic and difficult neighborhood, and Muslim religion, Kalaycioglu chronicles the birth and development of Turkey as a secular, modernizing, and democratic nation experiencing painful, transitional outbursts." --Soner Cagaptay, Director, Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
"Turkish Dynamics is a serious, thoughtful, and balanced analysis of the poltical evolution of Turkey from an empire into a modern republic. The book offers new and perceptive insights into the complexities of recent Turkish political history and addresses some of the key issues and challenges that Turkey faces at a time of critical new trends in its domestic politics and foreign policy. The author's knowledge of the historical backround of contemporary developments, combined with his skills as one of the country's top political scientists, makes this a unique work of scholarship."--Sabri Sayari, Director, Institute of Turkish Studies, Georgetown University
"This is a fascinating and powerful study of political and economic development of modern Turkey. Well written and capturing the attention of the reader, Turkish Dynamics fills a major vacuum in the literature and [is] a must read for students and observers of Turkey as well as for those who study comparative political development. It is also an excellent choice for college and university classes in these subjects." --Birol Yesilada, Professor & Contemporary Turkish Studies Chair Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University
Synopsis
A leading Turkish political scientist enhances understanding of the interactions of liberal democracy with longstanding cultural cleavages along secular-religious lines, ethnicity, and social class. This chronological narrative focuses on how the process of urbanization and industrialization has led to social mobilization and population movements.
About the Author
Ersin Kalaycioglu is Rector of Isik University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Table of Contents
Change and Stability * From Collapse to Liberation * Founding the Republic and the Cultural Revolution (1923-1946) * Democracy at Work and at Risk (1946-1960) * The Second Republic (1961-1980) * The Third Republic (1980-) * Governance, Change, and Risk * Making a Bridge Functional