In 1923, the Modern Turkish Republic rose from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming a new era in the Middle East. However, many of the contemporary issues affecting Turkish state and society today have their roots not only in the in the history of the republic, but in the historical and political memory of the state's imperial history. Here Fatma Muge Gocek draws on Turkey's Ottoman heritage and history to explore current issues of ethnicity and religion alongside Turkey's international position. This new perspective on history's influence on contemporary tensions in Turkey will contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding Turkey's accession to the EU, and offers insight into the social transformations in the transition from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Nation-State. This analysis will be vital to those involved in the study of the Middle East Imperial History and Turkey's relations with the West.

IntroductionChapter 1: Surveying Contemporary Turkey: A Country of Social Tensions Rooted in the PastChapter 2: Ottoman Origins of the Armenian, Greek and Kurdish Challenges to Turkish Foreign PolicyChapter 3: The Legacy of the Young Turk Revolution in Contemporary Turkish PoliticsChapter 4: Why is There Still a Sevres Syndrome? An Analysis of Turkey's Uneasy Association with the WestChapter 5: Silences in the Turkish Republican Past: An Analysis of Contemporary Turkish-Armenian LiteratureChapter 6: Remembering the Past: How to Commemorate 24 April 1915 Chapter 7: In Search of Just Turks in the Collective Violence Committed against the Armenians