A review on Mehmet Saffet (Arın) Engin's contributions to modern Turkish political thought

Mehmet Saffet (Arın) Engin is an intellectual who wrote over thirty books and many articles during the Turkish Republic era, from the one-party rule until the end of the 1970s. After studying sociology and philosophy in the USA, Engin returned to Turkey and lectured to students at various schools, and he wrote books on ancient Turkish history and language. Drawing Atatürk's attention, Engin attended his meetings at Çankaya Mansion. Engin became one of the first members of the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish Language Association; he also played a significant role in preparing the Turkish history and language theses shaped by Atatürk's initiatives in the 1930s. After leaving his teaching profession in 1942, he wrote works describing the old Turkish history and Kemalism until his death. Engin wrote articles with an "anti-communist" nature during the Cold War period, and after the 1950s, his "Turkist" views became more noticeable. In his books, which stated that he wrote in "Pure Turkish" (Öz Türkçe), he put forward views that were almost racist, and after 1960, when leftist ideologies were on the rise in Turkey, he drew attention as a staunch anti-communist. This study aims to determine Engin's place in modern Turkish political thought in the context of Kemalism, nationalism and anti-communism, which are three main ideas that summarize his world of thought.