No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
MODERNITY AND NATION-MAKING IN INDIA, TURKEY AND IRAN
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 January 2012
Abstract
This essay compares nation-making in India, Turkey and Iran through differing visions of modernity and Enlightenment as temporal horizons. The comparison is traced through the Islamic Triumvirate (Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires) focused upon the Mughal Emperor Akbar's multi-religious experiment in early modern empire consolidation. The essay then analyses the national independence movements which defined – through either violent or non-violent practice, direct seizure of state power or civil society transformation – the post-independence political formations of India, Turkey and Iran between democracy and authoritarianism. As ideal types, these experiences constitute two distinctive temporal horizons: the movement (involving the masses in nation-making as a multi-centred process) and the programme (nation-making from above employing a blueprint of rupture). The political tradition being highlighted is nation-making based upon an ethic of reconciliation over totality. This tradition links development and public freedom in creating a democratic society.
Keywords
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012