Modern Türkiye

The Justice and Development Party's (AKP) rise to power in Turkey was not an ordinary event; rather, it was a silent earthquake that occurred in stages, and its repercussions have continued to affect Ataturk's republic and its geopolitical relations with neighboring and distant countries. Based on a long series of personal interviews with Abdullah Gül, the "spiritual father" and first "Islamist" president of Turkey, who hails from this very party, and in addition to extensive research into the country's history, this book traces the journey of the rise and fall of Islamist movements in Turkey.
As was known of him in politics, Gül does not maneuver in his narrative either, addressing events clearly and forthrightly. He recalls the era when the second state in NATO was on the verge of joining the European Union, and he speaks at length about his country's relations, during his time in power, with major Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq, as well as with major regional players in the Middle East, such as the United States of America, Iran, and Israel. While Gül's relationship with the current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is still based on the bonds of old friendship, the book devotes considerable space to highlighting contrasting, even contradictory, visions between the first generation of the "Justice and Development Party" on the one hand, and Erdogan on the other. These differences begin with the amendment of the Turkish constitution on the presidential issue, pass through the crisis of the "Gezi Park" demonstrations, and do not end with the divergence in understanding Turkey's role in the Syrian crisis.
In addition to Gül's rich testimony, the book focuses on encompassing his team, who are strongly present as colleagues and partners in political struggle, witnesses to an era, and analysts who share insightful views on the current Middle Eastern scene. Thus, across 15 chapters, the book, whose preface was written by former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, reviews a short history, yet one burdened with woes heavier than its two decades of existence. It is a book that sheds light on the paleness of the present and attempts to answer the difficult questions of the future.

Tha'er Abbas – Lebanese journalist and editor-in-charge of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper's Beirut office, where he started working in 1993. He holds a bachelor's degree in media from the Lebanese University, obtained in the same year.

"We were under a lot of pressure from the regime at first, but now we have become so free that the country is ruled by one person, and he decides almost everything about it."