Discussions on nationalism in the political discourse: Re-reading turkish nationalism with ziya gokalp

Nationalism, which emerged in 1789 with the French Revolution, has an important place in terms of the sense of belonging and the definition of self. Despite the changing world views, it remains popular and valid today. As a political discourse, nationalism has a special place in the study of ideologies. Nationalism, has been an ideology that has played an important role in the development of a common national identity in society during the historical development process. Nationalism, along with modernization, has begun to be studied in the academic world. In academic terms, theories of nationalism as “a priori” are discussed in three sections. These are primordial or essentialist approach, modernist or instrumentalist approach, and ethno-symbolist approach. In Turkey, the ideology of nationalism was proposed by some ideologists as a salvation response in the late Ottoman Empire. One of these ideologists, Ziya Gokalp, is regarded as the founder of Turkish nationalism. Gokalp has combined the ideas of Islamism, Westernization and Nationalism. According to him, it is necessary to enter Western civilization by protecting the Turkish and Muslim identity. In this context, Turks must accept Western civilization completely, but must not be part of Western culture. When we evaluate the concept of Turkish nationalism advocated by Ziya Gokalp in terms of theories of nationalism, it is difficult to incorporate it into a single theory. The Turkish nationalism it draws its lines from, although historically post-modernity, is based on Saving Society in a crumbling empire, unlike the formation of nations that are the product of modernity. Considering the concept of Turkish before Islam and showing the Turks as the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Gokalp’s concepts of nationhood and nationalism can be evaluated with an ethno-symbolist approach. Gokalp, who systemizes Turkish nationalism under Turkism and directs the ideology of the Turkish Republic, has a very important place in the analysis of Turkish nationalism. His views remain effective. In this study, the idea of nationalism in Ziya Gokalp’s political discourse will be examined using critical discourse analysis. This course will be based on the works of Turkification, Islamization, Modernization written in 1918, which is considered as one of the most important texts of modern Turkish thought for analysis. The context of discourse is nationalism and especially Turkish nationalism. Fairclough’s “Critical Discourse Analysis Model” will be used as a method. Fairclough considers critical discourse analysis as a method of analysis that discusses the elements of discourse’s social and political power1. He deals with critical discourse analysis in a threedimensional approach: analysis and identification of text (discourse), interaction (interaction of discourse with other discourses), context analysis and explanation (the context of the discourse)2. © 2020 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.