Theoretical explanations of nationalism

In this study, nationalism, one of the problematic concepts about which political science is the scene of the most debate, was examined based on theoretical nationalism explanations. The explanations of theoretical nationalism, which also constitute the subject of the study, are statements that examine the phenomenon of nationalism with an inclusive upper theory. For this purpose, the concepts of nationality and nationalism are explained in this study, which is based on the descriptive research method. Then, the explanations of nationalism, which can be examined in two categories traditionally and critically, were examined. Traditional theories are examined in the literature as primordialist, modernist and ethno-symbolist under three main headings. Critical theories include theories that cannot be included in all three statements and criticize them. These explanations, which cannot be classified as primordialist, modernist or ethno-symbolist, were examined in the category of critical theories specific to this study. After all these explanations are mentioned, a comparative examination of the theories is presented in the last section. The aim of this section is to discuss the competencies of theoretical nationalism statements and to draw a general method of examination of nationalism. During the study, a detailed literature review was carried out and the illustrative and comparative methods were used together.