The Transformation of Turkish Nationalism: The Distinction between the Nationalist Movement Party and the Great Unity Party (1992-2018)

Nationalism is one of the most discussed topics in political science. Many political scientists thought that "the era of nationalism is over". However until now nationalism has been an ideology that never goes out of style. Especially Turkish nationalism has been studied a lot because of its unique feature. Turkish nationalism has existed in the Turkish nation before the 18th century when nationalism emerged. However the Ottoman Empire wanted to be a solution to the survival problem of the state with the influence of nationalism, Islamism and Westernism in the Decline Period. This situation was also valid for the Republic of Turkey. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey has been a nationalist party for more than 50 years. After the 1980 Military Coup, a crossroads was reached as a result of the gradual Islamization of nationalism. Therefore two nationalist parties with different identities were formed. These parties are MHP and Great Unity Party (BBP). In this study, the ideas, values and identities of these two political parties and their process in Turkish politics until 2018 are examined. In this thesis, "comparative situation analysis" will be used as one of the qualitative research methods.