Table of Contents

Introduction: pursuing sovereignty in the age of imperialism; 1. The intellectual and emotional climate after the Balkan wars; 2. 1914: war with Greece?; 3. The Ottomans within the international order; 4. The Great War as great opportunity: the Ottoman July crisis; 5. Tug of war: Penelope's game; 6. Salvation through war?; Conclusion: the decision for war remembered.

Promotional Information

Revisionist account of the Ottoman Empire's fateful decision to enter the First World War in 1914.

About the Author

Mustafa Aksakal is Associate Professor of History and Modern Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.

Reviews

Review of the hardback: 'Overall, this work is an impressive and very valuable contribution to our understanding of the relationship between Germany and the Ottoman Empire, as well as their respective foreign policies, on the eve of the First World War.' H-Net

Review of the hardback: 'What Aksakal offers is a meticulous analysis of the factors that induced the political leaders of the Ottoman Empire to enter the war on the German side in October 1914.' Erik-Jan Zürcher, Diplomacy and Statecraft

Review of the hardback: 'In this new study, Mustafa Aksakal demonstrates with authority that the general apprehension of dissolution and partition that drove Ottoman officials in 1914 derived from the disastrous Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 … and was based on a plethora of very real threats and secret negotiations leading up to the Ottoman signing of the alliance with Germany on August 2, 1914.' Virginia Aksan, Insight Turkey