In 1923, the Modern Turkish Republic rose from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming a new era in the Middle East. In this book, the author draws on Turkey's Ottoman heritage and history to explore various issues of ethnicity and religion alongside Turkey's international position.

'This book by Fatma Muge Gocek is exceptional. By framing the historical material on Turkey with sociological insights, she makes a very rare contribution to Turkish history. As she brilliantly merges the outcome of the two fields of inquiry, she recreates Turkey's past while questioning some of the most delicate and controversial issues that define Turkey's present. This striking book thus opens new ways of understanding of history, sociology and modernity on the one side and Turkey's chaotic past and present on the other. It is a must for all scholars and students working on Turkey as well as those engaged in the comparative analysis of history and modernity.' - Hasan Bulent Kahraman, Associate Professor, Sabanci University, Istanbul 'The rapid and deep changes that are currently affecting Turkey are in this work dissected by a keen observer of her country's past and present. Fatma Muge Gocek deploys her profound knowledge of the imperial past to explain the 'neo-Ottomanist' developments that have been opening up Turkish society and challenging the nationalist 'deep state'. As historian and sociologist, Gocek unravels the connections between the Ottoman reforms of the nineteenth century, the massive state violence against non-Turks, and the creation of a secular state, remarkably insecure and defensive, and a predominantly Muslim nation, increasingly self-confident. As Turkey shoulders its way onto the international stage, this book is the place to discover what lies behind today's headlines.' - Ronald Grigor Suny, Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Political History and Director of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, University of Michigan and Emeritus Professor of Political Science and History, The University of Chicago