The decision to write the present work arose from two reasons: a) the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic and b) the need to inform the Greek and Cypriot readers about unknown aspects of modern Turkey in a way that is understandable to the average reader.

Except for some doctoral theses or master's essays that the average reader does not easily have access to, we know very few things about a range of issues such as, for example, the structures of Turkish Islam, honor crimes, demographic trends, child labor, the military-industrial complex, the Kurdish Hezbollah, etc.

Turkey in the 21st century has great ambitions, but it is questionable whether it has the means (financial, technological, military) to realize them. Ankara's "Great Idea" is to make Turkey one of the ten most powerful states in the world by 2053 (600 years after the fall of Constantinople). Based on neo-Ottoman ideology, the Treaty of Lausanne is considered a historical injustice that definitively dissolved the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, Erdoğan speaks of the “borders of his heart” that transcend Turkey's official borders.

The doctrine of the "Blue Homeland" and the "National Oath" fit within the same logic as the practical daily challenge to the borders of Greece, Cyprus, Syria, Iraq, and more recently Armenia.

Quo Vadis Turkey? Has it definitively chosen the Eurasian bloc (Russia, China, Iran), opportunistically leveraging its participation in NATO and the Council of Europe? Will it continue to undermine Europe through the weaponization of migration flows and the harboring of Islamist terrorism?

The present book takes the form of questions and answers in order for the reader to familiarize themselves with concepts and terms in a simple and understandable way. It covers 5 thematic sections:

• Politics,
• Society-Islam,
• Economy-Organized Crime,
• Foreign Policy,
• Armed Forces-Intelligence Services.

In the appendices of the book, there is a timeline of events and rich photographic material. We hope that its publication will constructively contribute to public dialogue in a country where, in 2023, there still is no National Security Council, let alone a National Security Strategy. The tragic events occurring in the Middle East (since October 7, 2023) make the need to read the book even more urgent.