From nation and nationalism to nations and nationalisms: Nationalism in the postmodern era

The realities of nation and nationalism, which came to the forefront as one of the main determinants of political, social and cultural life with the modern period, have always maintained their influence and decisiveness and continued to be the basic form of societies, although it has been argued that they lost their importance in different periods. This thesis focuses on the main reason behind how national belonging and nationalism, which is said to be worn down and even eliminated by globalization and cosmopolitanism on the one hand, and ethnic conflict problems on the other hand, continue to be influential and determinant in the postmodern period. That is, nationalism is considered as an element that must be understood, not overcome, and its power is tied to its ability to keep up with changing conditions. In this context, the shaping of nationalism by factors such as difference, diversity, relativity and pluralism, which form the basis of postmodernity, is discussed. Fragmentation in the postmodern period against the homogenizing essence of modernity; rather than dividing nations, it creates a perspective that accepts the existence of different parts and focuses on preserving its original value and specific weight within them. This argument is supported by different examples and dynamics, and unlike other dominant theories in the literature, it focuses on how the concepts of nation and nationalism survived, maintained its strength and evolved rather than when they were born. In addition, it is argued that it is not possible to explain all the examples of nation and nationalism in the world with a single theory and that postmodern diversity is also valid for nation and nationalism. This situation, which is wanted to be emphasized in the title of the thesis, puts diversity and relativity on the main axis in terms of the formation of nations and the orientation of nationalism. It focuses on the moment rather than a historical reading. It tries to reveal the daily power of nationalism, its emphasis on the will to live together instead of being similar, its functionality in the response to the need for solidarity, its relationship with democracy, and its exclusivism that does not change within itself and can emerge with different themes in the postmodern period. In the thesis, mostly qualitative research methods have been applied, and comparative analysis, ethnographic research based on ethno-history and content analysis have been used in different sections.