What accounts for the regression of Turkey's stature from a
"model" country to one riddled with state crisis and conflict?
Unable to adapt to the challenges of the era and failing to respond
to ...ethnic and multicultural political demands for reform, the
Turkish state has resisted change and stuck to its ideological
roots stemming from the 1930s. In Turkey's State Crisis,
Aras delves into the historical, political, and geopolitical
background of the country's decline. In an effort to delineate the
origin of the crisis, Aras investigates several perspectives: the
political elites' attempt to change the administrative system to
create a performance-oriented one; the bureaucracy's response,
concerns, and resistance to change; the state's conflict resolution
capacity; and the transformation of foreign/security policy.
Providing a comprehensive portrait of the Turkish state's turmoil,
Aras creates a blueprint for the ways in which much-needed reforms
can break vicious cycles of political polarization, rising
authoritarianism, and weak state institutions.
Without the labor of the captives and slaves, the Ottoman empire could not have attained and maintained its strength in early modern times. With Anatolia as the geographic focus, Leslie Peirce ...searches for the voices of the unfree, drawing on archives, histories written at the time, and legal texts. Unfree persons comprised two general populations: slaves and captives. Mostly household workers, slaves lived in a variety of circumstances, from squalor to luxury. Their duties varied with the status of their owner. Slave status might not last a lifetime, as Islamic law and Ottoman practice endorsed freeing one’s slave. Captives were typically seized in raids, generally to disappear, their fates unknown. Victims rarely returned home, despite efforts of their families and neighbors to recover them. The reader learns what it was about the Ottoman environment of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that offered some captives the opportunity to improve the conditions of their bondage. The book describes imperial efforts to fight against the menace of captive-taking despite the widespread corruption among the state’s own officials, who had their own interest in captive labor. From the fortunes of captives and slaves the book moves to their representation in legend, historical literature, and law, where, fortunately, both captors and their prey are present.
The Balkans offer classic examples of how empires imagine they can transform themselves into national states (Ottomanism) and how nation-states project themselves into future empires (as with the ...Greek “Great Idea" and the Serbian “Načertaniye"). By examining the interaction between these two aspirations this volume sheds light on the ideological prerequisites for the emergence of Balkan nationalisms. With a balance between historical and literary contributions, the focus is on the ideological hybridity of the new national identities and on the effects of “imperial nationalisms" on the emerging Balkan nationalisms. The authors of the twelve essays reveal the relation between empire and nation-state, proceeding from the observation that many of the new nation-states acquired some imperial features and behaved as empires. This original and stimulating approach reveals the imperialistic nature of so-called ethnic or cultural nationalism.
The first full account of the historic change in Turkey between 2007 and 2011, and the only scholarly description of the new order in the immediate aftermath of the change from 2011.
A study of migration, mobility control and state power in the late Ottoman Empire. Sheds light on the phenomenon of migrant smuggling from a historical perspective. Demonstrates the effects of ...different regimes of mobility control on the migration process. Examines the limits of citizenship and nationality in the context of global migration.
New perspectives on ethnic relations, Islam and neoliberalism have emerged in Turkey since the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002. Placing the period within its historical and ...contemporary context, Tahir Abbas argues that what it is to be ethnically, religiously and culturally Turkish has been transformed.
The Ottoman lands, which extended from modern Hungary to the
Arabian peninsula, were home to a vast population with a rich
variety of cultures. The Ottoman World is the first
primary source reader to ...bring a wide and diverse set of voices
across Ottoman society into the classroom. Written in many
languages-not only Ottoman Turkish but also Arabic, Armenian,
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, and Persian-these texts, here translated,
span the extent of the early modern Ottoman empire, from the 1450s
to 1700. Instructors are supplied with narratives conveying the
lived experiences of individuals through texts that highlight human
variety and accelerate a trend away from a state-centric approach
to Ottoman history. In addition, samples from court registers,
legends, biographical accounts, hagiographies, short stories, witty
anecdotes, jokes, and lampoons provide exciting glimpses into
popular mindsets in Ottoman society. By reflecting new directions
in the scholarship with an innovative choice of texts, this
collection provides a vital resource for teachers and students.
This handbook examines the regional and international dynamics of the Middle East. It challenges the state society dichotomy to make sense of decision-making and behavior by ruling regimes. The 33 ...chapter authors include the world's leading scholars of the Middle East and International Relations (IR) in order to make sense of the region. This synthesis of area studies expertise and IR theory provides a unique and rigorous account of the region's current dynamics, which have reached a crisis point since the beginning of the Arab Spring.
The Middle East has been characterized by volatility for more than a century. Although the region attracts significant scholarly interest, IR theory has rarely been used as a tool to understand events. The constructivist approach in IR highlights the significance of state identity, shaped by history and culture, in making sense of international relations. The authors of this volume consider how IR theory can elucidate the patterns and principles that shape the region, in order to provide a rigorous account of the contemporary challenges of the Middle East.
The Routledge Handbook of International Relations in the Middle East provides comprehensive coverage of International Relations issues in the region. Thus, it offers key resources for researchers and students interested in International Relations and the Middle East.
