After the Ottoman Empire

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Fred Anscombe
• Assessment: a 5000-5500-word essay (100%)

We will trace the dissolution of the Ottoman state over the last century of its existence (c.1820-1923) and the legacy of the empire to the many post-Ottoman states of the modern Balkans and Middle East. We consider first the challenges posed to a state governing a multiethnic, multiconfessional population, particularly the social and political problems caused by a forced programme of rapid modernisation. A second major topic will be the process of transition from Ottoman province to post-Ottoman country and the difficulties facing newly created nation-states. The third significant theme is the influence of popular perceptions of the Ottoman-era past in modern political affairs, including the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Turkey’s controversial candidacy for membership in the European Union, and Islamist nostalgia for the caliphate.