About this Book

"Turkey held its first democratic elections in 1950 and joined NATO in 1952. These dramatic domestic and international developments facilitated an equally dramatic reinterpretation of the country's imagined past and its anticipated future. Under the influence of electoral politics and Cold War competition, Turkish politicians, intellectuals, and voters articulated a distinct vision of mid-century modernity, at once aspirationally liberal, proudly nationalistic, rationally pious and appropriately prosperous. They optimistically asserted, with the enthusiastic agreement of many foreign observers, that Turkey was on the verge of transcending its notorious clichés by finally reconciling religion and secularism, tradition and modernity, and, of course, East and West. In exploring Turkey's transformation between 1945 and 1960, I argue that present-day thinkers intent on transcending these same purported binaries have misunderstood what was so unique about mid-century politics. Moreover, recognizing the ease with which authors in this era reworked narratives about history and modernity in order to advance their rival agendas reveals the profound malleability of such narratives - and should make modern scholars more aware of how we politicize similar narratives in our own work today"--