On Nationalism in Tkiye: A Republic in Search of Conscience What is a nation-and who gets to belong?What happens when a republic is founded on denial rather than recognition?Can nationalism be transformed from a regime of fear into an ethic of dignity?In this intellectually courageous and morally urgent book,
Levent ğlar reconsiders the very foundations of nationalism in modern Tkiye. Written at the intersection of political theory, historical reflection, and philosophical inquiry,
On Nationalism in Tkiye challenges the dominant myths that have shaped the Turkish Republic for over a century-and proposes a radically new framework for national identity.
A Book of Moral Reckoning and Political VisionUnlike conventional histories or polemics, this book is an exploration of nationalism as a
moral architecture, shaped by a nation's capacity for
self-awareness,
self-reflection, and
honor. ğlar proposes a bold distinction between two forms of nationalism:
- Negative Nationalism, grounded in fear, domination, ethnic purity, and myth;
- Positive Nationalism, rooted in recognition, ethical responsibility, and plural memory.
With examples ranging from
Nazi Germany and
Fascist Italy to
post-apartheid South Africa,
post-Holocaust Germany, and
Canada's Indigenous reconciliation, ğlar invites us to see how nations can descend into moral collapse-or rise through truth, humility, and justice.
Tkiye: A Case Study in Denial and HopeAt the heart of the book lies a profound diagnosis of the Turkish state's century-long trajectory. ğlar deconstructs the ideological foundations of the Republic-its rejection of the multicultural Ottoman legacy, its forced Turkification, the erasure of Kurds, Armenians, Alevis, and others-and shows how nationalism became both a
political strategy and a
spiritual disease.
But this is not merely a critique-it is a
call to transformation. It calls for a
Republic of Conscience, one that embraces internal diversity, confronts its past atrocities, and builds a shared future based not on sameness, but on solidarity.
Philosophy, Emotion, and RevolutionMore than a political treatise,
On Nationalism in Tkiye is also a work of
philosophical depth and
emotional power. Drawing from Hegel, Rousseau, and Romantic thinkers, the book redefines the nation as a
collective subjectivity-a being capable of memory, feeling, contradiction, and change.
Romantic nationalism, ğlar argues, can either inspire inclusion or inflame exclusion. National identity can either become a space of collective healing-or a prison of myth, fear, and historical amnesia.
Through lyrical yet rigorous prose, the author uncovers the
psychopolitical dimensions of nationalism: how states manipulate fear, how memory is weaponized, how shame becomes policy, and how art, language, and education are shaped into tools of erasure or emancipation.
A Vision for the FutureUltimately, this book is about
possibility. It insists that another nationalism is not only imaginable-but necessary. One that:
- Treats minorities not as threats but as co-creators of the national story.
- Grounds citizenship in ethical recognition, not blood or religion.
- Builds unity through difference, not conformity through violence.
The book's concluding chapters outline a
Republican Dialogue Model, where pluralism becomes the foundation of democracy, not its obstacle. It is a powerful and practical vision of a
democratic republic capable of confronting its traumas and cultivating a shared moral horizon.
