The republican order of Turkey seems not to have changed much since its foundation in 1923, but there were dramatic transformations: From Atatürk's modernization dictatorship in the 1920s and 1930s over the massive migration into the cities and the military coups in the second half of the 20th century up to Recep Tayyip Erdogans electoral autocracy since the 2010s. The book helps readers understand Turkey's historical trajectory in the 19th and 20th century, the fate of its various communities and ethnic groups, in particular Alevis and Kurds, and argues that a particular trait of Turkish political culture is its constant fluctuation between confidence and contention, grandeur and grievance.