The Historical continuity of terrorism in Türkiye and D. Rapoport's theory of the four waves of modern terrorism

The phenomenon of modern terrorism has both occupied the world's current agenda and constituted a priority area of academic study for a long time. Despite this, it has not yet been clearly understood and a definition agreed upon by all individuals and institutions has not yet been made. Regarding reasons for this situation, the historical perspective is important in making sense of the phenomenon of terrorism. At this point, the importance of David C. Rapoport's "Four Waves of Modern Terrorism Theory", which constitutes the theoretical center of this thesis, comes to the fore. D. Rapoport combines conceptual and historical dimensions while analyzing the phenomenon of terrorism with the "Wave" metaphor. Türkiye has been the target of all forms of terrorism since the last period of the Ottoman Empire. In this context, this thesis examines the historical continuity of terrorism in Türkiye from the perspective of D. Rapoport. On the one hand, the history of terrorism in Türkiye is presented on a conceptual basis beyond chronology, and on the other hand, the theory is compared in terms of whether it is compatible with the Türkiye case. In the comparison made within the scope of the findings obtained, it was concluded that the Theory is compatible with Türkiye at a rate of %62,5. Following the first and second chapters of the study, where the Introduction and Research Methods (case study analysis and comparative historical analysis) are presented respectively, in the third chapter, the phenomenon of terrorism is discussed conceptually. In the fourth chapter, the "Four Waves of Modern Terrorism Theory" and the criticisms against it are analyzed. In the fifth chapter, the historical continuity of terrorism in Türkiye is presented from the perspective of D. Rapoport, and the findings are discussed in the conclusion.