Angry Nation

Turkey Since 1989

Kerem Öktem

Since Turkey was catapulted back onto the world stage in 1989 it has turned into a major power broker and has developed into one the largest economies in the world. The country has, however, failed to peacefully resolve its ethnic, religious and historical conflicts. Today, as the foundations of the ethno-nationalist Kemalist state are eroding rapidly, Turkey appears to be coming to terms with the many sources of its anger, if cautiously and slowly. At this historical turning point, Angry Nation: Turkey Since 1989 charts the contemporary history of Turkey by looking at the country’s erratic transformation from a military dictatorship to a maturing, if still troubled, democracy.

Contents

• Introduction: Happy Nation?
• Nation-Builders
• Kurds and Kemalists
• The Rise of the ‘Islamic Calvinists’
• The Ghosts of History
• Turkey as European Borderland?
• Conclusion: For All the Anger
• References
• Index

About the Author

Kerem Öktem is research fellow at the European studies Centre, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University and teaches the politics of the Middle East at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.