Turkey: Challenges of Continuity and Change

Turkey is generally perceived as deeply divided between the secular, Westernized elite and the Muslim population, with the latter involved in a constant struggle to resist the modernization process imposed by the elite. This book argues that Turkey's history is much more complex than this stereotype allows, where neither the elite nor the public are monoliths existing in total opposition to each other. The authors put issues relevant to Turkey today - such as consolidating democracy, dealing with economic development issues, improving its human rights record and its foreign policy - in an historical context, allowing comparisons with other late developers in the world and reflecting the complexity of Turkish political and socio-economic developments. Turkey also argues that the modernization process that started in the nineteenth century, with all its elements including secularization and Westernization, has taken root. This book provides a concise and accessible introduction to contemporaryTurkey from a social science perspective. It will be essential reading for students and researchers of political science, social science and the Middle East, as well as for those with a general interest in Turkey.