Nationalism was regarded as a positive force shaping ""modern"" societies and states but in Europe it has been overshadowed by the disasters of two world wars. Outside Europe, however, it has continued to flourish throughout the 20th century. Covering Turkey, Iran, Abkhazia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, this study reveals the counter-forces unleashed by the project of nationalist modernization, and the stimulation of identity politics as the result of ruthless repression of minority languages, culture, traditions, and religion--the life-blood of minority...

Universal conscription has been the main form of military recruitment in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Central Asia and the Middle East it has been ruthlessly imposed on agrarian and undeveloped societies with little regard for individual interest, economic disruption, or intense local resistance. This book provides a fresh approach to the understanding of conscription, with contributions from social and political historians in an area traditionally covered by military historians. It focuses on the previously undiscussed areas of Ottoman Turkey and Egypt (where some of the most extreme...

The authors trace the emergence of Ataturk and Reza Shah through the constitutional revolutions in Iran and the Ottoman Empire, which led to the introduction of European social models, the establishment of dictatorship and of secularist reforms. This produced in both Turkey and Iran highly authoritarian, nationalist, and quasi-westernised states, where the personality cult of the leader defined the politics of each country."

This revised edition builds upon the twin themes of Turkey's continuing incorporation into the capitalist world and the modernization of state and society.