Turkey's Nationalist Action Party - Ideas and Practices

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the nationalist ideas and practices of Turkey's Nationalist Action Party (MHP) from its founder, Alparslan Türke¿, to its current leader, Devlet Bahçeli.
Applying both diachronic and synchronic approaches to the multidimensionality of nationalism, the book analyzes how Türke¿ and Bahçeli emphasized or de-emphasized ethnic, cultural, and civic components of the party's nationalism in response to the threats they perceived in specific historical contexts. The author draws on party documents, speeches, and interviews to examine how recurring themes in Türke¿'s and Bahçeli's nationalist ideas and practices have evolved over half a century, between 1965 and 2015. In this way, the book provides fresh insights into the evolution and complexity of the MHP's nationalism, thereby contributing to the theoretical understanding of nationalism's multidimensionality. This book also highlights the political significance of the MHP in contemporary Turkey, where nationalist and right-wing politics have become increasingly influential in recent years.
Spanning a number of disciplines, including political science, international relations, and Turkish studies, this book will be of interest to a broad range of scholars and students, as well as those seeking insights into the broader implications of nationalism.

List of contents

1. Introduction 2. Historical Background 3. Alparslan Türke¿: "Bäbu¿" (Chieftain) of the Idealist Movement 4. Devlet Bahçeli: "¿lteber Devlet" (Head of State) - Idealist as the Leader 5. Conclusion

About the author

Arzu Opçin-K¿dal holds a PhD in Political Science from Bilkent University, Ankara. Her main research interests are nationalism and gender. She is the co-author of "Imagining Turan: Homeland and Its Political Implications in the Literary Work of Hüseyinzade Ali [Turan] and Mehmet Ziya [Gökalp]" (Middle Eastern Studies, 2020).

Product details

• Authors: Arzu Opçin-Kıdal
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 26.12.2025
• EAN: 9781032525778
• ISBN: 978-1-032-52577-8
• No. of pages: 188
• Illustrations: schwarz-weiss Illustrationen, Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Series: Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Miscellaneous; Political Parties, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Parties, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, Nationalism, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, Middle East, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Political leaders & leadership, Regional Studies, Regional / International studies, Political leaders and leadership, Political parties and party platforms, Nationalism and nationalist ideologies and movements