State, Faith, and Nation in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Lands

Current standard narratives of Ottoman, Balkan, and Middle East history overemphasize the role of nationalism in the transformation of the region. Challenging these accounts, this book argues that religious affiliation was in fact the most influential shaper of communal identity in the Ottoman era, that religion molded the relationship between state and society, and that it continues to do so today in lands once occupied by the Ottomans. The book examines the major transformations of the past 250 years to illustrate this argument, traversing the nineteenth century, the early decades of post-Ottoman independence, and the recent past. In this way, the book affords unusual insights not only into the historical patterns of political development but also into the forces shaping contemporary crises, from the dissolution of Yugoslavia to the rise of political Islam.

Author: Frederick F. Anscombe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 02/17/2014
Pages: 339
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781107615236

Review Citation(s):
Choice 08/01/2014

About the Author
Anscombe, Frederick F.: - Frederick F. Anscombe is a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary History at Birkbeck, University of London. His publications include The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar (1997); The Ottoman Balkans, 1750-1830 (edited, 2006); and articles in Past and Present, the Journal of Modern History, and The International History Review.