Conservative nationalism in Turkey: The case of Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi

The ideas of "conservatism" and "nationalism", which are among the political ideologies of the modern period, deeply influenced the politics of 19th and 20th centuries. These ideologies, which have many effects in the social and political spheres, have also made their influence felt in Turkey. Due to the economic and political games played against our country recently, the spirit of unity against the West has reinforced the feeling of returning to the essence, tradition, custom, national and spiritual values. In this context, conservatism and nationalism, which have started to be mentioned together, shape Turkey's social and political life. Conservative nationalism aims to strengthen the unity and integrity of society by protecting historical, cultural heritage and spiritual values. In this framework, issues such as religion, morality, family structure, state and society relations are at the centre of this ideology. While this understanding expresses the search for a certain stability and continuity in the face of the changes brought about by the modern world, it aims to preserve national identity and authenticity. Conservative nationalism recognises nations as deep-rooted institutions and believes that the future of the nation will be shaped based on its ties to the past. This ideology attaches great importance to the tradition and spiritual values and defines nationalism within this framework. In this context, Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi's Turkish-Islamic Ideology is a model that reflects the perspective of conservative nationalism in Turkey. Therefore, it is of great importance to explain the concepts in the conservatism literature (history, adherence to tradition, change, revolution, regiligious and moral values, freedom, equality, hierarchy, authority, family, society, state, property, reason, human, etc.) with Arvasi's nationalist discourse. This study endeavours to explain what conservative nationalism in Turkey means within the framework of the Turkish-Islamic ideal, despite the fact that the definition problems of the concepts continue today.