The grand narrative of The Young Turk Legacy and National Awakening is that of the essential continuity of the late
Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey that was founded in 1923. Erik Jan Zürcher shows that Kemal's
'ideological toolkit', which included positivism, militarism, nationalism and a state-centred world view, was shared by
many other Young Turks. Authoritarian rule, a one-party state, a legal framework based on European principles,
advanced European-style bureaucracy, financial administration, military and educational reforms and state-control of
Islam, can all be found in the late Ottoman Empire, as can policies of demographic engineering. The book focuses on
the attempts of the Young Turks to save their empire through forced modernization as well as on the attempts of their
Kemalist successors to build a strong national state. The decade of almost continuous warfare, ethnic conflict and
forced migration between 1911 and 1922 forms the background to these attempts and accordingly occupies a central
position in this volume.
This is a powerful history reflecting and contributing to the latest research from a leading historian of modern
Turkey. It is essential for all readers interested in the history of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, and for an
understanding of a key player in the politics of the Middle East and Europe.
