Description: This book offers a radical reinterpretation of the development of the modern world through the concept of Jacobinism. It argues that the French Revolution was not just another step in the construction of capitalist modernity, but produced an alternative (geo)political economy - that is, 'Jacobinism.' Furthermore, Jacobinism provided a blueprint for other modernization projects, thereby profoundly impacting the content and tempo of global modernity in and beyond Europe. The book traces the journey of Jacobinism in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. It contends that until the 1950s, the Ottoman/Turkish experiment with modernity was not marked by capitalism, but by a historically specific Jacobinism. Asserting this Jacobin legacy then leads to a novel interpretation of the subsequent transition to and authoritarian consolidation of capitalism in contemporary Turkey. As such, by tracing the world historical trajectory of Jacobinism, the book establishes a new way of understanding the origins and development of global modernity.
Brief description: Eren Duzgun is assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, China Campus. His research focuses on historical sociology, political economy and international relations. His work has appeared in the European Journal of International Relations, the Review of International Studies, the Journal of International Relations and Development and the European Journal of Sociology, among other scholarly outlets.
Review Quotes: 'Duzgun's Capitalism, Jacobinism and International Relations is a must-read for any student of global history and global international relations. Duzgun brilliantly uses the Turkish case to completely rethink our understanding of modernity and modernization everywhere.' Ayşe Zarakol, Professor of International Relations, University of Cambridge