Ismet Inonu

This highly original study of a Turkish statesman can be read as an introduction into Turkish politics. In his very clearly written and stimulating political biography of Ismet Inonu, Metin Heper presents to the reader a highly motivated, self-reflecting and self-conscious political leader.Ismet Inonu played a critical role in the founding of the Turkish Republic, further promoting Westernization, and the transition to and the consolidation of democracy in Turkey. This volume is the first treatise on this remarkable statesman in any Western language. It challenges such orthodox views on Inonu as his having played second fiddle vis-a-vis Ataturk and his having been a power-hungry politician with an authoritarian bend of mind. It is suggested that Inonu complemented Ataturk, and that, over time, he adopted liberal political views while remaining a staunch guardian of the premises such as secularism upon which the Turkish Republic rested. It is also argued that if his compatriots had paid closer attention to Inonu, they would have a more liberal conception of democracy and, at the same time, in politics they would have acted more prudently.