A selection of the best writing on Turkey’s difficult first century, from the History Today Archive
On 29 October 1923, the Turkish Republic was declared. Its Ottoman predecessor – ‘six centuries old, with a body slumped across three continents’ writes Murat Metinsoy in our recent cover feature – was a creature of the 13th century, and the new nation’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, embarked on an ambitious transformation of caliphate to nation-state.
Paradoxically, these reforms – which included the (eventual) establishment of multi-party democracy – were underwritten by authoritarianism. Coup attempts have become a grim feature of Turkey’s first century and Atatürk’s reaction to a 1926 assassination attempt saw him tighten his grip on power until he drew blood.
Abdülhamid II ruled with an iron fist, curtailing press freedom, promoting Islam and severing ties with the West. His similarities with Turkey’s current president have not gone unnoticed.
Relations between Turkey and the rest of Europe have often been defined by suspicion and mistrust. Do historical grievances define the country’s relationship with Europe?
