Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the sub sequent chapters of this book. The book discusses a study in the history of war, the goal of which is to focus on the Ottoman war experience, a topic often neglected in the Anglophone historiography. At the same time, by presenting insights from the fields of history, sociology and political theory, it seeks to follow an interdisciplinary path instead of solely concentrating on military studies. The book reflects first on the Dardanelles and Gallipoli Campaign by presenting its causes, conduct and consequences, and second with a socio-political angle, carries the debate on the Gallipoli Campaign to contemporary Turkey. It focusses on the place and power of living memory related to the Dardanelles Campaign in the public imagination and political life of Turkey by using the tour guides' debates of the mid-2000s as a case study.