Book: 100 Years of Turkey (1923-2023) by Anna Karamanou.
100 Years of Turkey (1923-2023) by Anna Karamanou. Photo: Facebook.
ATHENS. Turkey recently celebrated one hundred years of modern Turkey, as a Western-style democracy envisioned by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Certainly, the current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, once again mixed history during these grand propaganda celebrations in a way that suits him, skillfully conveying to his people the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire as he perceives it, rather than honoring the 100 years of modern Turkish democracy, which has never truly been completed.
In Greece, there was a reference to the 100th anniversary of Turkey, but it was primarily a new book that emphasized this anniversary with three lectures at the auditorium of the Theocharakis Foundation.
This is the new book by the well-known former PASOK MEP, Anna Karamanou, who had impressed us with her previous book “The Peaceful Uprising of Female Sapiens, 1821-2021.”
Her new book, published by Armos Editions, explores the history and politics of the neighboring country, aiming to help us better understand, in detail, the status of women, religion, and culture. It also examines the conditions that led to the emergence of modern political Islam and its long-standing hegemony under the “invincible” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The author herself stated that she aimed to provide a concise, unbiased, and as objective as possible understanding of Turkey, as well as ample food for critical thought, further research, and a clear perspective on history.
Indeed! As stated on the back cover, the book examines the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, the power of the harems, the interaction with Europe, the establishment of the Turkish nation-state by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (October 29, 1923), the major reforms, the policy of secularization and the attempt at Westernization, as well as the socio-political conditions that led to the emergence of Political Islam and the long-standing hegemony of Erdoğan from 2002 to the elections of 2023.
The historical research, both bibliographic and field-based, summarizes the most significant historical, political, and cultural events and provides a concise, unbiased, and as objective as possible understanding. Above all, it offers abundant food for critical thinking, further research, and a clear perspective on History. What lends it originality and uniqueness is that, alongside the major political milestones, it highlights the particularly tough struggles of the women of Turkey for rights and dignity, which official History usually overlooks.
The book is not only very readable but also particularly interesting, as it contains stories and details that are hard to find in other sources. For example, we learn about Kemal Atatürk’s unique wife, Latife Hanım, who was regarded as the “feminist” first lady of Turkey, and about the warm words even Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk had to say about her.
Through the book, we understand the role of women who fought for their liberation but unfortunately have largely fallen back into Erdoğan’s “veils.” After all, with Atatürk’s death, the first signs of an attempt to restore patriarchy quickly became apparent.
The book not only emphasizes feminism. It also addresses nationalism, the efforts of the Europeanists to prevail, as well as those of political Islam, which Erdoğan has skillfully promoted for years with ambiguous theories. The struggle of the Kurds for liberation is also included.
Certainly, today political Islam has prevailed in Turkey. However, how this came to be is easily understood by reading the book, which is so skillfully structured. In fact, with descriptions such as the statement by Professor Nazan Aksoy that “there is no compatibility between Islam and Democracy,” we can perceive, beyond journalistic descriptions, the regression of everyday Turkey in the social and family domain.
In conclusion, the current representative of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, does not seem to understand what Ms. Karamanou emphasizes in her previous book and reinforces in the new one: “No history is written without women. Otherwise, events cannot be conceived.”
Anna Karamanou
Doctor of Political Science and Public Administration and MSc in European and International Studies (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens). Author of the award-winning book from the Academy of Athens for the 200 Years since the Revolution of 1821, titled “The Peaceful Uprising of Female Sapiens, 1821-2021,” published by Armos. Former Member of the European Parliament and President of the Parliamentary Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament.