Book Description

Situated between two continents, the Turkish Republic emerged in 1923 as the successor to the multinational Ottoman Empire. A young secular Republic with an old history, Turkey is a diverse and complex country in terms of social composition, politics, culture and economy, where cultures and races coexist. This dynamism is apparent in Turkey's economy, with its rapidly developing financial markets, an energetic entrepreneurial class, a thriving industrial base, and fast-growing communications. Today Turkey is striving to consolidate its democracy but it also faces other challenges. On the one hand it wishes to maintain its Islamic tradition but on the other it desires to be part of the West. In addition, it seeks to find a balance between its traditional role in Western defence strategy and its new regional role in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This bibliography fully updates the original volume, published in 1982.