BBC World Service Online

The War That Changed the World

Factual: History

The effect of World War One from a global perspective

One hundred years ago the First World War set the course for the modern world: for the countries that took part nothing would be the same again.

The War That Changed the World: Turkey: Modernity and Secularism

Factual

Istanbul: Modernity and Secularism

06/09/2014

Turkey: Modernity and Secularism

BBC World Service - The War That Changed the World, Turkey: Modernity and Secularism

Emerging as a new republic after World War One, how has this influenced Turkey today?

Turkey emerged from the First World War as a new republic, with a secular and modern identity, attempting to break from its Ottoman past. How has this influenced Turkey today?

Divested of its empire, Turkey emerged from the aftermath of the First World War as a new republic, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the hero of Gallipoli. It developed a secular and modern identity and attempted to break with the Ottoman past. However as Turkey currently re-examines its own constitution, the legacy of the First World War has come back into focus in a compelling way. 

In this special debate from Istanbul, Razia Iqbal is joined by the historians Akşin Somel and Ahmet Kuyaş to discuss the new political ethos of modernity, which was embraced after World War One, and the history it attempted to leave behind. 

The acclaimed novelist Elif Shafak explores memory, forgetting and the legacy of World War One in a specially commissioned essay selected by the British Council.

(Photo: Turkish marines on the march to the Dardanelles, known as Çanakkale in Turkey)
(Credit: TopFoto)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The War That Changed the World

Turkey: Modernity and Secularism

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service