Abstract:

This study aims to reveal the fundamental differences between, as one of the most remarkable figures of Turkish nationalism, Nihal Atsız’s understanding of Turkism based on racist-Turanist ideas and the conception of Turkism that was idealized and adopted under the roof of CKMP (Republican Peasant Nation Party)-MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) led by Alparslan Türkeş after 1965. On the one hand, the ideas and writings of Atsız, who were always welcomed with sympathy by radical nationalist groups both during his lifetime and after his death, with his attitude that sees no harm in expressing his racist ideas openly, provides the most radical examples of the Turkish right and Turkish nationalism. So much so that the reflection of Atsız's thoughts in the mindset of radical nationalists can still be seen in the social base of the MHP today. On the other hand, some differences of opinion between Atsız’s Turkist group and Türkeş’s MHP refer to a turning point in the direction of the fundamentalist nationalism in Turkey. In this framework, this article examines the issues on which these two fundamentalist nationalist lines differ, under the headings of Islam, Turkism, the Kurdish issue and organizational structure, while taking into account the discourse adopted by Atsız and Türkeş, comparatively.  

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