The book Turkey, a Century of Change in State and Society is an edited volume by Bayram Balcı and Nicolas Monceau dedicated to celebrating the centenary of the Republic of Turkey. Comprising eight chapters, it covers various aspects of Turkish politics, from political economy and religion to the Kurdish question and foreign policy. Each chapter is authored by well-known experts in their respective fields with a proven record of publication.

After introducing the book in the first chapter, Özlem Kaygusuz, in the second chapter, traces the evolution of Turkish republicanism, highlighting its role as the central pillar of an egalitarian and secular notion of citizenship. She details how modern citizenship replaced the Ottoman Millet system, which treated different religious groups differently. Kaygusuz further meticulously examines how Turkish citizenship has transformed into a “plebiscitary authoritarian” type under AKP rule, characterized by weakened legislation, extreme centralization, and the erosion of judicial independence. The loss of basic rights such as liberty, freedom of expression, and fair trials are key indicators of the shift towards non-democratic governance.

Ümit Akçay’s third chapter is about the critical analysis of the transformation of Turkey’s political economy. The periodization of Akçay dwells on two key developments that closely interact with each other: Turkey’s integration into the global economy and the domestic double transformation characterized by the transition from a traditional society to an industrial one. He convincingly posits that the import-substitution model and economic liberalism of the 1970s were abandoned after 1980 for an export-led industrialization strategy. During the AKP era, the rise and subsequent crisis of dependent financialization, especially after 2013, compelled the government to seek alternatives to sustain economic growth. The 2018 currency crisis, exacerbated by Erdoğan’s refusal to increase interest rates, led to an inflationary spiral.

Bayram Balcı addresses the relationship between religion and the state in the fourth chapter. His comprehensive essay illustrates how Sunni Islam has been favored over minority beliefs through the transformation of key institutions such as Diyanet, the military, and education. Balcı argues that the crisis of secularism, deemed unsuitable for the diverse structure of the former Empire, paved the way for the rise of Islamists from the 1990s onward.

In the fifth chapter, Evren Balta analyses the Kurdish question using the concepts of identity, representation, and territory. Starting from the Ottoman roots of the conflict, which manifested in bloody revolts, Balta chronicles the resurgence of the Kurdish issue in the 1980s and the subsequent military responses by various governments. She then rightly mentions the failure of the AKP to solve the Kurdish question through religious discourse– let alone putting Turkey into violence cycle again.

The sixth chapter of Ilhan Uzgel focuses on Turkey’s foreign policy (TFP) from a historical perspective. Uzgel’s insightful study argues that the TFP mostly remained security-oriented and pro-western from the end of WW2 until the first term of the AKP rule. However, the stalled EU membership process and the onset of the Arab Spring prompted a shift towards the East, marked by the embrace of “neo-Ottomanism”.

Turkey-EU relations is another important topic Nicolas Monceau covers in the seventh chapter. The author argues that the relations with Europe improved as Turkey sided with the West following WW2. Turkey’s application to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959 opened the long journey to become a full member of the EU. Turkey acquired a candidacy status in 1999, and negotiations opened in October 2005, when the AKP adopted reformist policies to weaken the guardians of the secular regime. However, the relations with Europe have deteriorated considerably, parallel to the authoritarian transformation of Turkey in the last decade.

The book’s concise and clear language allows readers to easily comprehend and follow Turkey’s significant political and economic developments. However, this simplicity sometimes results in more descriptive than analytically rigorous content. Moreover, some aspects may undermine the full potential of the book. First, this book is not easily distinguishable from an increasing number of edited books with similar content. Second, the chapters of the book could be better interconnected conceptually and empirically. Third, no qualitative or quantitative method is used throughout the book. Fourth, some arguments proposed in the book are not fully convincing, such as the overstressed potential of the Alevi protest and the characterization of soft Islamization from 2008 to 2013. Fifth, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that the Turkish military’s sensitivity towards secular regimes has completely waned. Finally, the broad analysis period leads to generalizations that overlook significant developments, such as the intervention in Cyprus. Despite these drawbacks, this book is a valuable addition to the scholarship on Turkish politics. It offers an in-depth analysis of domestic, regional, and international developments that have shaped Turkey, stimulating intellectual curiosity and debate among scholars and students alike.