Aesthetic representation of the nation

Nationalism and the nation-state represent a modern conception as a product of a post-1789 crisis period. People who previously defined themselves at local levels or as ethnicity, tribe and family under the government of empires, will begin to consider themselves as a common "us" after the 18th century, but especially in the atmosphere which transferred the 19th century to the 20th century. Nationalism projects and the nation-state firstly go along with a process of construction and the invention of tradition. They require a mobilization that encompasses the bureaucratic institutions of the state such as a common language, an alphabet, historiography, and the curriculum as well as intellectuals. Whether it is "an imaginary community" or "an invented tradition", each nationalism project has to integrate many elements by homogenizing them within the framework of ideology which is itself a modern concept. A common perception of "us" has to carry an emotional and romantic dimension. A nationalism project that cannot aesthetize itself within the framework of emotional identifications, cannot achieve a result. In this sense, all nationalisms have to present themselves aesthetically in terms ofpoetry, literature, painting, architecture, sculpture or contemporary forms. A non-aesthetic which means not affective sense of "us" fails to mobilize the masses. This study aims to reveal how nationalism relates to art and aesthetics during its modern evolution through examples based on romanticism, Greek and Turkish nationalism. It also attempts to analyze the concept's relations with extreme forms such as German fascism. Keywords: Nationalism, Ideology, Modernism, Romance, Art, Aesthetics, Image, Symbol, Literature, Romance, Mythology, Turkish Art, Sculpture, Painting, Greece, Fascism