History of Turkey - Research Paper Example

?History of Turkey Introduction It is said that if you do not know where you are coming from, you will hardly know where you are going. For this reason that all nations take pride in the studying of their history at all levels of education in the country. The need for students and natives to know about the origin and story that surrounds the beginning of the founding of the nations has always been held in high estimate. Without the study of the history of a particular country, it will be very difficult to assess or measure the degree of success associated with the nation in all spheres of life including economy, social, political and cultural. This is because in stating the current standing of any country in any of the manner elaborated earlier, reference is made to previous years to ascertain whether growth has been achieved or not. Turkey is a sovereign country that has a lot of interesting stories surrounding its past. It is therefore said that Turkey has a great history. Whereas some of highlights are political, others are economics whiles some are social. All in all, different authors and reviewers have viewed the history of Turkey from different perspectives. In this essay, the views and thoughts of four writers who have written about Turkey from four different perspectives are discussed. Introduction of authors and their overall sense of purpose in their articles. , but then integrate and compare authors. Margaret MacMillan and The End of the Ottomans Margaret MacMillan is the author of Paris Peace Talks of 1919. The book contains a chapter from which the article “The End of the Ottomans” is found. The author, Margaret MacMillan approaches her theme or subject from a reported perspective. This is to say that she was not a living witness to the situation or case on which she reported. This is because the events leading to the actual end of the Ottomans took place in the year 1919. This not withstanding, nothing can be taken out of the authentication of the fact reported in the article. This is because the author is an insider as far as the events leading to the end of the Ottomans are concerned. For instance Stefov (2005) notes that “Margaret MacMillan is the great-great granddaughter of David Lloyd George. David Lloyd George (1863-1945) was British Prime Minister of the Liberal party during the 1919 peace talks and was responsible for drafting the Treaty of Versailles.” More to this, the author is a learned historian and professor at the University of Oxford. In her writing, she expresses an overall sense of purpose of the need for the treaty that ended the reign of the Ottomans. She also highlights the strategy used by the liberation seekers and justifies their approach of forming alliances with other nations to fight wars that eventually led to the end of the Ottomans. Comparatively, Margaret MacMillan tackles a more ancient beginning of Turkey than the other authors as the other authors seem to write on the aftermath of the establishment of the new Turkey. Rajan Menon and Wimbush S. Enders and The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance? Rajan Menon and Wimbush S. Enders are the second authors whose work is considered in this essay. The two write on “The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance?” right from the citing of the topic of their article, their overall sense of purpose is made clear. This is said because the topic is put in a question form. This means that the authors are only making an interrogative statement and not a factual one. However, this sets the precedence for a rather controversial subject to be discussed by the authors. The controversy in their purpose of writing is in the fact that their theme is highly debatable and not subject to measurement. For instance to say that the US and Turkey alliance has come to an end is not a measurable fact. It will therefore be very difficult to say this for a fact – a reason that the writers put their topic in a question form. However, a critical review of the article reveals that the writers have taken a stand and indeed a very firm stand on the debate as to whether or not the alliance has come to an end. In the opinion of the writers, the US and Turkey alliance has actually come to an end. The writers however throw a challenge to both nations involved, saying that leaders from both nations are refusing to admit the end of their alliance. It is against this background that the authors state that “neither side is facing this reality.” The comparative difference between these authors and the three others is that these authors did not select a measurable moment and fact in history that can be easily accept by all without the least doubt or debate. Larrabee F. Stephen and Turkey's New Geopolitics Larrabee F. Stephen authored Turkey's New Geopolitics. The author pays tribute to Turkey’s core political history that spans around Turkey’s close alliance with the United States over the years. From a perspective that seem to be in agreement with Rajan Menon and Wimbush S. Enders who wrote The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance?, Larrabee F. Stephen agrees that the alliance or union that otherwise existed between Turkey and United States is not as firm as it used to be some years past. The author makes reference to the 1940s and compares the political unity between Turkey and the United States to the present day. Regardless of the overall idea expressed by the author that Turkey and the United States are no longer strongly bounded allies, the author maintains that Turkey continues to have a lot of goodwill and rapid political relations with the West “through its membership in NATO, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development” (Larrabee, 2010). All said and done, the major overall sense of purpose carried out by the author has to do with the fact that Turkey has shown a lot of political maturity over the years after its break-up with Western allies. The political maturity is seen in how the nation has single handedly put in place new geopolitical initiatives that has ensured that even though polities ties with the United States is not as deep as it used to be, the country continues to survive and grow in her political, social and economic fortunes. The comparative difference between Larrabee F. Stephen and other authors is that he writes on present political situation with basis on history. His writing is therefore not a typical historic account of Turkey. Fuerth Leon and The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider Their Nuclear Choices Fuerth Leon has also proved to be an astute historian and historic writer as far as the history of Turkey as a nation is concerned. In writing The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider Their Nuclear Choices, the writer takes the approach used by Larrabee F. Stephen, who authored “Turkey’s New Geopolitics”. The general approach is not to write a vivid historic report but base on the history of the country and for that matter Turkey to forecast a potential step to be taken by the country. The difference with Larrabee however is that Larrabee writes on a current happening based on history whereas Fuerth writes on the future based on history. The historic background given by Fuerth is that Turkey has been a nation that has been against the production of nuclear weapon. The writer is however skeptical in his purpose of writing whether this stand will continue to be taken by Turkey in the events of present happenings whereby most countries seem to be taking so much pride and cover under the production of nuclear weapons. Another major temptation that the writer identifies as leading Turkey to turn to nuclear weapon production is the ease with which the production of nuclear weapons seems to come with. It is against this background that the author states that “Today many of the building blocks of a nuclear arsenal—scientific and engineering expertise, precision machine tools, software, design information—are more readily available than ever before” (Fuerth, 2004). This author is different from the other authors on the basis of how he projects into the future of Turkey based on Turkey’s history. Themes of the Articles Even though the four authors tackle different components and timelines in the history of Turkey, there are certain themes that can be found as running through the articles that are discussed. Three of these themes are briefly discussed as below. – 120 Theme of Soverignity and Independence The theme of sovereignty and independence runs through the articles, especially that of Margaret MacMillan who writes on The End of the Ottomans. For a country to be sovereign and independent means that the country has the freedom to rule itself, decide for itself and of course determine its own line of governance. The sovereignty of a nation is highly respected at all levels of foreign diplomacy. Sovereignty and independence gives nations their true identity and paves the way for development. It is for this reason that the people of Turkey saw the need to fight their course into gaining independence and sovereignty. Apart from Margaret MacMillan, the other writers portray the theme of sovereignty and independence in how Turkey has over the years sort to part ways with some of her closest allies. In the days of the allies, there were many who felt that Turkey were being gold diggers, taking advantage of their allies ; especially the United States. Today, Turkey has proved beyond all reasonable doubt that they are in a position to fend and cater for themselves. Theme of Faith in a Nation’s Potentials One other theme that is strongly trumpeted by the authors is the theme of faith in nation’s potentials. The nation in question here is Turkey. By faith in Turkey’s potential, reference is being made to how Turkey has put in place workable plans to ensure that even as she liberates herself from her colonies and allies, she is not left behind in terms of development. In both “The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance” and Turkey’s New Geopolitics” by Rajan Menon; Wimbush S. Enders and Larrabee F. Stephen respectively, the writers outline categorically the plans that Turkey is putting in place to gain a new image in the sight of the international community. With some of these policies, Turkey has shown great potential in her future and a readiness to become a force to recon with in terms of international politics. It is not surprising there that Turkey is part of some of the world’s most reputable groups such as the NATO. Theme of Focus for Future Needs Change is not easily accepted by everyone but some changes are very necessary for growth and development. Running through Turkey’s history, it can be seen that the nation was highly against the concept of nuclear weapon production. However, current global trend seem to be changing this schools of thought. As highlighted by Fuerth Leon in The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider Their Nuclear Choices, Turkey is likely to take up a new twist of mentality for her future. Without focusing necessarily on the production of nuclear weapons, there is every indication as trumpeted through the articles that Turkey is poised for the future and ready to take up her future fortunes into her own hands. REFERENCE LIST Fuerth, L. ‘The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider Their Nuclear Choices’, Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, 2004. Larrabee F. S., ‘Turkey's New Geopolitics’ Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, vol. 52, no. 2, April–May 2010, pp. 157–180 Menon, R and Wimbush E.S, ‘The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance?’ 2007, Survival. Vol 49 No 2. Summer 2007. DOI:10.1080/00396330701437785 Stefov, R. ‘Paris Peace Talks of 1919; Part 2 - The End of the Ottomans’ 2005. Web. November 26, 2011 Read More