Turkish nationalism
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Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.
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[edit] History of Turkish nationalism
[edit] Pan nationalism
Turkish nationalism began with the Turanian Society founded in 1839, followed in 1908 with the Turkish Society, which later expanded into the Turkish Hearth[1] and eventually expanded to include ideologies such as Pan-Turanism and Pan-Turkism.
The Young Turk revolution which overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II, allowed Turkish nationalism into power, eventually leading to the Three Pashas control of the late Ottoman government.
After the Fall of the Ottoman Empire, the reformer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to power. Atatürk spoke positively about the Pan-Turkic and he wanted to forge closer relationships with other Turkish states in Central Asia and the West. Atatürk introduced Hilaire de Barenton's Sun Language Theory into Turkish political and educational circles in 1935, at the high point of attempts to "cleanse" the Turkish language of foreign influence. Turkish researchers at the time also came up with the idea that Early Sumerians were proto-Turks.[2]
[edit] Anatolianism
According to Anatolianism, the Turkish people built a quite new civilization in Anatolia after 1071 when they won at the Battle of Manzikert. In the early republic era, some intellectuals proposed that the origins of the Turkish nationalism should be sought in Anatolia, not in Turan. It became also an element in the process of nation-building in Turkey.[3]
[edit] Modern Turkish nationalism
Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which is perceived as being contrary to notion of freedom of speech, states "The person who publicly denigrates the Turkish Nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the State, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years."[4] It also states that "Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime."
There have been recent indications that Turkey may abandon or modify Article 301, after the embarrassment suffered by some high profile cases.[5] Nationalists within the judicial system, intent on derailing Turkey's full admission into the European Union, have used Article 301 to initiate trials against people like Nobel-prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish novelist Elif Şafak, and the late Hrant Dink.[6]
In May 2007, a law was put into effect allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to Atatürk.[7]
[edit] See also
- Pan-Turkism
- Turanism
- Turkification
- Nationalist Movement Party
- Grey Wolves
- Great Union Party
- Ergenekon network
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Turkish Society". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/610080/Turkish-Society. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ Shay, Anthony (2002). Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Companies, Representation, and Power. Wesleyan University Press. p. 210. ISBN 0819565210. http://books.google.com/?id=Dc8ij9DULgwC&pg=PA210&vq=Sumerians&dq=Choreographic+Politics.
- ^ Identity, Culture and Globalization - Annals of the International Institute of Sociology.ISBN 9004128735, ISBN 978-9004128736, pg. 182 - 183.
- ^ "Kanun No. 5759" (in Turkish). Turkish Grand National Assembly, official Web site. 2008-04-30. http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/kanunlar/k5759.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ "Turkey insult law 'may be dumped'". BBC News. 2005-12-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4565466.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ Schleifer, Yigal (2005-12-16). "Freedom-of-Expression Court Cases in Turkey Could Hamper Ankara’s EU Membership Bid". http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav121605.shtml. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- ^ "Turkey adopts law to block 'insulting' websites". AFP (Turkish Daily News). 2007-05-07. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=72465. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
[edit] References
- Arman, Murat Necip. "The Sources Of Banality In Transforming Turkish Nationalism". CEU Political Science Journal, issue: 02 / 2007, pp. 133–151.
- Eissenstat, Howard. "Anatolianism: The History of a Failed Metaphor of Turkish Nationalism". Paper presented at Middle East Studies Association Conference, Washington, D.C., November 2002.
- Tachau, Frank. "The Search for National Identity among the Turks". Die Welt des Islams, New Series, Vol. 8, Issue 3 (1963), pp. 165–176.]
[edit] Further reading
- Çetin, Zafer M. (October 2004). "Tales of past, present, and future: mythmaking and nationalist discourse in Turkish politics". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 24 (2): 347–365. doi:10.1080/1360200042000296708.
- Poulton, Hugh (May 1999). "The struggle for hegemony in Turkey: Turkish nationalism as a contemporary force". Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans 1 (1): 15–31. doi:10.1080/14613199908413984.
- Uslu, Emrullah (March 2008). "Ulusalcılık: The Neo-nationalist Resurgence in Turkey". Turkish Studies 9 (1): 73–97. doi:10.1080/14683840701814018.
[edit] External links
- Turanian Community Turanian Community
- Turkcu and Turanist Forum Turkish Nationalist Community
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