Mustafa Aksakal on World War I and the end of the Ottoman Empire

What this episode covers

Mustafa Aksakal, associate professor of history at Georgetown University, on “The War that Made the Middle East: World War I and the End of the Ottoman Empire” (Princeton University Press) The book gives a revisionist take on the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution, suggesting it was not a foregone conclusion and that alternative future paths were possible. Aksakal argues that the end of the empire and emergence of nation states in the region resulted from a combination of European imperial ambitions, resentments among local populations, and catastrophic decisions taken by the Committee of Union and Progress in power in Istanbul during the war. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/