Author Kabir Tamar challenges the pluralist government that controls Turkey, and reckons that to aid minorities and foster their inclusion in Turkish society, Turkey must face its history and the violence that created the state in its modern form. In the acknowledgements, Tamar states that the majority of research conducted in the book was based on ethnographical analysis of the Turkish state. The author does not specifically state how the research was conducted, but it appears to be a historical and scholarly analysis based on the research and claims of other scholars. The Reckoning focuses on the Alevi minority group in Turkey and how pluralism and nation-state recognition have affected their community throughout the years of Turkey's existence, versus their status within the Ottoman Empire. Tamar claims that increased Alevi religiosity and religious practices reflect the pluralist actions by the government and their lack of recognition as a minority in Turkey. Tamar concludes that Turkey currently fosters a democratic practice that excludes national-citizenship of minorities like the Alevi based only on the grounds of consenting inclusion and that the only way to change that exclusion model is to face their history of violence and creation.