Dietrich Jung
Reform og forfald. Den osmanniske arv i den moderne statsdannelse i Mellemøsten

Engelsk summary:

This article discusses to what degree the Ottoman history of inner reforms, outer conflicts and the decline of the patrimonial order is revoked in the modern, Middle East states. The core proposition of this article is that the Ottoman process of modernization with its structurally contradictive political economy failed to connect the reform of the political institutions with a symbolic, legitimizing order. However, as opposed to the traditional, European interpretation of the Ottoman reforms as destined to failure the article points to the fact that this particular part of the Ottoman history can be understood not only as conflict-ridden but also as a creative phase of the emergence of modern states in the Middle East and the Balkans.