Turkey Before and After Ataturk: Internal and External Affairs

Turkey's modern history has been full of instability and continuing contradictions. The nature of national identity and its relationship to the state continues to be an issue and Turks are still faced with the conflict between the twin goals of "joining the West" and preserving their own cultural forms. The emergence of Islamicism as a political ideology has helped to shape politics in Turkey, as it has had to compete in the political market place with other, secularist, parties and to play the game according to the rules of secular democracy, rather than a millenarian revolutionary vision. However, there are growing doubts as to whether secular constitutional democracy is safely anchored within the system of government in the country.