Ottoman Entry into WWI: Politics, Nationalism and Diplomacy, Dr. Lisa Adeli

Lisa Adeli, the National Council for Social Studies 2012 Global Education award recipient, develops programs for the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies, primarily for K12 students and for educators. Adeli specializes in Ottoman and Balkan history with a special interest in World War I, with academic degrees from Georgetown, Indiana University and the University of Arizona. When the Great War erupted, the Ottoman Empire was already depleted from years of conflict in the Balkans and elsewhere. Why, then, were the Ottomans so quick to join the Central Powers in early November 1914 The immediate answers involve internal Ottoman politics and a struggle for dominance within the Young Turk ruling elite. This presentation examines the Ottoman decision within the broader context of European relations and the challenges caused by the rise of competing forms of nationalism within the Empire, issues which shape the history of the Middle East throughout the war and the century that followed.