Where is Turkey Headed? Culture Battles in Turkey looks into the dynamics of social change in Turkey from the broad perspective of a German journalist who lived in Istanbul for nearly two decades. With a panoramic view of the history of the Turkish republic, including the late Ottoman era, the author presents a critical analysis of the cultural, economic and political transformation Turkey has long been going through. He discusses that the driving force for this change has its roots in the very society that has discovered its cultural, religious and ethnic diversity, and is pushing back against omnipotent government control.
Rainer Hermann studied economics and Islamic studies and can speak Arabic, English, German, Persian, and Turkish. Hermann has more than twenty years' experience as a foreign correspondent, mainly in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi. Currently living in Frankfurt, he is covering the Middle East and the Islamic world news for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily.