Nation-building process in Turkey during The Single Party Period and role of the people's houses (1932-1946)

In this thesis, the idea of formulating a modern nation, which was tried to be built during the rule of single-party government system in Turkey, is argued within the framework of the concepts of nation and nation-building, and is defined in the context of People's Houses, considering the nation-building initiatives before the Republic of Turkey. With this regard, the implementations of the single-party authority in the nation-building process and the role assigned to the People's Houses for the accomplishment of these implementations are the subject of the thesis. With the declaration of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, a series of reforms were realized, and the necessary conditions for constituting a modern nation were attempted to be created. With respect to all these actions, some reforms were executed between 1923 and 1932, most of which consisted of legal reforms. It turned out to be a prominent issue for these reforms to be accepted by the public and reach every corner of the new-born Turkish republic. People's Houses were opened in 1932 in order to better explain these reforms to the public and to raise the awareness of being a nation. The People's Houses, which began its activities as an education and culture branch of the Republican People's Party (CHP), were coordinated all around Turkey in a short time and reached a large part of Turkish society. With nine activity branches established within working scheme of the People's Houses, it has become an important socio-cultural institution for promoting national language and history, especially for the education of the ordinary citizens, and for creating a new generation competent in arts, sports and science. While the People's Houses were such places where the symbols and values of the new nation-state were represented, nonetheless they played a role in the construction of the new social identity and its adaptation to the society as well.