The New Turkey: The Quiet Revolution on the Edge of Europe
It's the neoconservative dream come true: a Muslim country in the Middle East that's rapidly transforming into a liberal democracy with a thriving market economy that builds half of Europe's television sets. However, it wasn't American military intervention that produced this miracle, but a combination of European Union economic incentives and moderate Islam. In this engaging, hopeful survey, BBC correspondent Morris paints Turkey as a study in contradictions. A rabidly secular military establishment spars with Islamic parties that champion democracy and human rights; cosmopolitan cities where miniskirts abound and head scarves are few and far between are surrounded by an almost feudal countryside where honor killings are routine. At the center of these upheavals is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has pushed through a whirlwind of progressive reforms while trying to appease his Islamist constituents with proposals to outlaw adultery. Morris is captivated with Turkey's landscape and people, rendered in vivid reportage, but he's clear-eyed about its festering conflict with the Kurdish minority, pervasive corruption and the vast economic problems the country faces. The result is an illuminating look at one of the world's more interesting societies that stands many assumptions about religion, politics and development on their heads.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.