Modernization in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire and Its Afro-Asian Successors.

• Author: Farah, Caesar E.

This is a collaborative work involving nine different authors most of whom are either on the faculty of or graduates of Princeton and who are scholars of distinguished accomplishments in their own rights. It was written under the auspices of the Center of International Studies and the Program in Near Eastern Studies of Princeton. The work was undertaken as a part of a series on Studies in Modernization, three of which had preceded the present volume (Japan, China and Inner Asia). Professor Black, the originator of the series and co-editor of this work, passed away (1989) while this study was being completed and it is dedicated to his memory.

With the mold thus having been set, the authors (each addressing his area of specialization separately or jointly in every chapter) went about the task of approaching the topic of modernization a la West on the basic premise that this is a desirable end. They divided their work into two parts: 1) the heritage of the past and 2) the modernizing transformation. Each section focused on the same subtopics (after an introduction): the international context, political structure, economic structure and growth, social interdependence, knowledge and education, and a conclusion. Supportive data include a bibliographical essay, bibliography, chronology, index and three maps.

The work was not designed to enhance our knowledge of the Ottoman empire's traditions and agonizing experiences in adjusting rather reluctantly to the exigencies of a world it never considered itself a part of, rather with which it was, for centuries, in conflict. It seeks to reorder what we know of this history and experience to fit the pattern chosen for recasting it. The study is an attempt to recount the multiple problems of modernization which began in the late eighteenth century when the region was under the imperial pressure from the West. The story told goes beyond conventional political history, focusing on the forces that have contributed to, or hindered, modernization up to the present day.

The authors each address the subtopic that lies within his area of expertise. Given, however, the nebulous task confronting them, they could not be expected to present much more than a superficial account, highlighting the data already well known to the historian. Here the dangers of generalization could not be avoided.

The underlying premise of assessing "modernization" is the "process by which societies have been and are being transformed under...