Men of order

by Touraj Atabaki

"Men of Order is the first attempt to compare and contrast the 'authoritarian modernization' of Ataturk and Reza Shah in the 1920s and 1930s and to trace the development and implementation of this modernization, assessing its effect on both states. The contributors to this book form a team of internationally renowned scholars. They explore the religious impediments facing both rulers; the development of arbitrary rule; the role of political parties, especially in the single-party regime in Turkey; cultural innovation including 'dress codes for men'; language reform; the building up of armies and exercise of foreign policy. The book reveals Reza Shah and Ataturk - the icons of authoritarian modernization - each as a unique mixture of the 'reforming pasha' of the nineteenth century and European dictators of twentieth-century Europe. It is thus a ground-breaking study connecting the political the historical phenomena central to any understanding of the twentieth century."--Jacket.