Fear not…! Turkish nationalism and the six arrows system — A state in search of a nation

摘要

“Korkma — Fear not” starts the Turkish national anthem that was officially adopted on 12 March 1921. A framed version of the Turkish national anthem, the symbol of the nation, and in wider sense the historical Turkic symbols of kinship typically occupy the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of Turkish schools, accompanied by a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country’s founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk’s famous inspirational speech to the nation’s youth from the concluding remarks to his 20 October 1927 address to the Parliament. The concept of nationalism of Atatürk remained a universal and timeless constitutional reference in Turkey. In the first part of this paper, the nature of Turkish nationalism at the time of its emergence is examined, studying this state shaped nationalism in a comparative context. The second part focuses on the constellation of the Atatürk’s nationalism in the symbiotic system of the six arrows: nationalism, laicism, populism, republicanism, etatism and revolutionism.\ud