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The article discusses the entry of Turkey, then the Ottoman Empire, into World War I as a German ally, commenting on events leading up to Turkey's formal declaration of war on November 11, 1914. It reflects on the political situation in Turkey, particularly examining the influence of the political organization the Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, or Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), and political leader Enver Ismail Pasha. The author also considers Turkish nationalism and the securing of a German loan for Turkey.

This article focuses on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. There are five key areas which stand out as explanations for the decline and fall of the Turkish empire, besides European intervention: the morbid nature of the Ottoman government and the empire's relative economic decline; the spread of nationalism in the Balkans; the attempts to revive Turkey by the New Ottomans and Young Turks; the German attempts to generate a sphere of influence in the Middle East; and the impact of the Balkan Wars.

Presents a letter to the editor regarding a previously published article which discussed Turkey's secular model for nationalism in Islamic countries.