Genesis of Turkish Nationalism

Abstract

In this research, conditions for the emergence of the Turkish nationalism and chief intellectuals who formulated the Turkish nationalism are comprehensively scrutinized. Turkish nationalist thought developed as a part of modernization and Westernization ideologies, then, it became an independent political ideology. Turkish nationalism was the last link of the Ottoman Empire's reconstruction and Westernization movement chains. Namık Kemal was the chief intellectual, who affected almost the entire variety of intellectuals in the Empire. He was the Hegel of the Turks. Ziya Gökalp, who was deeply influenced by Namık Kemal, was the first intellectual to see Turkist ideology as a political thought. He tried to organize and formulate the pillars of the Turkish nationalism. Although, cultural nationalism began earlier, political nationalism, among the Turks, gained popularity, especially during and after the Balkans Wars.