The ‘sick man’ paradox: history, rhetoric and the ‘European character’ of Turkey

Abstract

1687: ‘In Christendom many think that the Turks are Devils, . . . but . . . it is certain, the Turks are good people . . . ’ (Jean de Thévenot) 1798: ‘ . . . injustice, tyranny and vice’ (William Hunter on the Ottoman government) 1853: ‘The sick man of Europe’ (attributed to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia; emphasis mine) 1853: ‘a sick man—a very sick man’ (the words that Nicholas actually used) 1942: ‘Play it again, Sam’ (attributed to ‘Rick’ [Humphrey Bogart] in Casablanca) 1942: ‘Play it’ (the words that Bogart actually used) 1909: ‘ . . . the term [“Savage Europe”] accurately describes the wild and lawless countries between the Adriatic and Black Seas’ (Harry De Windt) 2004: ‘The people of the Western Balkans are our fellow Europeans’ (Chris Patten)