Abschied von Atatürk

On 29 October 1923, Atatürk proclaimed the Turkish Republic. The new state was committed to modernisation and secularisation, and culturally and politically it orientated itself towards the West. The military made sure the country stuck to this course, even mounting coups where necessary. At the turn of the millennium, Turkey was on course to join the EU – but now, under Erdogan, this is out of the question. This book illustrates very clearly how Atatürk’s Turkey is being destroyed: the separation of state and religion is now maintained only for appearance’s sake and could soon fall by the wayside altogether. Any serious opposition is suppressed. The country is turning its back on the West, looking confidently towards the East and the South, deploying troops in Syria and North Africa, and laying claims to raw materials in the Mediterranean. But within Turkish society, new currents are also emerging: a young, liberal, democratic, ecologically aware civil society which is ready to resist.

• ‘Grant freedom of thought!’ - A Schiller quote on a Cem Özdemir sticker at the state banquet with Erdogan

• 29 October 2023: the 100th anniversary of the founding of Turkey

• The crises and wars of the New Turkey and what they mean for the West

• Highly topical: elections in Turkey on 14 May (parliamentary and presidential elections)

• The hypocritical handling of the earthquake • Corruption in the construction industry