The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey

by Soner Cagaptay

Overview

*New Edition of the Leading Work on Modern Turkey* In a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United States, the Middle East and Europe, Sunnis and Shiites, Islamism and liberalism, Turkey is at the epicentre. And at the heart of Turkey is its right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since 2002, Erdogan has consolidated his hold on domestic politics while using military and diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. His crackdown has been brutal and consistent - scores of jourbanalists arrested, academics officially banned from leaving the country, university deans fired and many of the highest-ranking military officers arrested. In some senses, the nefarious and failed 2016 coup has given Erdogan the licence to make good on his repeated promise to bring order and stability under a 'strongman'.

Here, leading Turkish expert Soner Cagaptay will look at Erdogan's roots in Turkish history, what he believes in and how he has cemented his rule, as well as what this means for the world. The book will also unpick the 'threats' Erdogan has worked to combat - from the liberal Turks to the Gulen movement, from coup plotters to Kurdish nationalists - all of which have culminated in the crisis of modern Turkey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350350267
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/04/2023
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. He has written extensively on U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish domestic politics and Turkish nationalism, publishing in scholarly jourbanals and major international print media, including the Wall Street Jourbanal, Washington Post, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Atlantic, New Republic, and Newsweek Turkiye. He appears regularly on Fox News, CNN, NPR, Voice of America, BBC, and CNN-Turk.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction to the New Edition
Introduction: Meet Recep Tayyip Erdogan
1 Growing up Poor and Pious in Secular Turkey
2 Turkey after Ataturk
3 The Foundations of Political Islam in Turkey
4 The Generals Fashion a New Turkey
5 Erdogan's Meteoric Rise as Istanbul's Mayor
6 The Perfect Storm
7 Erdogan in Power: The Good Years
8 The Silent Revolution
9 The Revolution Devours Its Children
10 The Future of the Turkish Kurds: Peace or Fire?
11 Foreign-Policy Gambit
12 Ending Turkey's Crisis
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

This is a brave and balanced narrative of Turkey's mercurial President Erdogan. Soner Cagaptay explains how 'the new sultan' built a modern and prosperous Turkey, but how his 'autocratic, illiberal side' undermined these achievements and throttled democracy. Turkey is now at a crossroads, and Cagaptay provides a clear roadmap. Nobody tells Erdogan's story better or more honestly.” —David Ignatius, columnist, Washington Post

“Cagaptay … argues for a liberal path to securing the country's future in this well-researched treatise.” —Publisher's Weekly

“Soner Cagaptay's The New Sultan sets out the events that enabled a deeply religious man from a poverty-stricken background to take power in a state governed by secular laws. After a tough upbringing on Istanbul's streets, Erdogan dragged himself up the ranks of Turkey's Islamist movement, becoming a force in a party few thought would ever rule...It is, Cagaptay correctly surmises, a recipe for disaster...[the book is] a clearly written indictment of how a country that once seemed destined for greatness fell from grace - and how a boy from the back streets rose to become a sultan.” —Louise Callaghan, The Sunday Times

From the Publisher

05/29/2017
Cagaptay, a political scientist who directs the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, argues for a liberal path to securing the country’s future in this well-researched treatise. He also shows how Turkey’s powerful president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan , is taking the country in the opposite direction. Cagaptay narrates Erdogan’s rise to power on the same wave of conservative nationalist politics currently washing over many other countries. The author is fair-minded in crediting Erdogan with reviving Turkey’s economy and bringing much of the nation out of poverty and into the middle class. However, Cagaptay also shows that Erdogan has gained power by demonizing his opponents and his onetime supporters, the Gulenists, badly dividing the country, with the possible consequence of civil war. The failed military coup in the summer of 2016 allowed Erdogan to consolidate and extend his authority in the name of stability. Erdogan ’s foreign policy forays have been failures, leaving him with little support from Middle Eastern countries while alienating the E.U., U.S., and Russia. Cagaptay offers appealing fixes such as a liberal constitution, a democratic, open society, and a tech-oriented economy, but little reason to believe that any of this can happen in the face of Erdogan ’s formidable opposition. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Cagaptay's prose is tight and the flow of the story is captivating. A newcomer to Turkish politics will learn much."

The Middle East Journal (Vol. 72

"The New Sultan, besides being an important companion for seasoned Turkey watchers is also a very valuable reference for anyone trying to understand how events since 2007 have given way to the current situation."

Canadian International Council

"...the book sketches Erdogan's upbringing in the tough Istanbul district of Kasimpasa. [...] Cagaptay describes how Erdogan started out among nationalist Islamists in student politics. [...] ...it gives a sensitive background context to his life and political upbringing."

William Armstrong

This is a brave and balanced narrative of Turkey’s mercurial President Erdogan. Soner Cagaptay explains how ‘the new sultan’ built a modern and prosperous Turkey, but how his ‘autocratic, illiberal side’ undermined these achievements and throttled democracy. Turkey is now at a crossroads, and Cagaptay provides a clear roadmap. Nobody tells Erdogan’s story better or more honestly.

David Ignatius