ABSTRACT
The 1930s witnessed the advent of an étatist, authoritarian, and nationalist state in Turkey. The swing to the political right was rooted in both domestic and international factors. Kemalism opted for authoritarianism, first, in the face of mounting domestic opposition to secularization and nation-state building. Besides, while Turkey had come to regard the West as a model, and since Atatürk’s idea of modernization followed Europe, the bankruptcy of democratic regimes in the continent had repercussions in Turkey. 1 Ankara turned away from democracy and adopted an authoritarian line. Yet, even then, Turkish nationalism did not break away from its earlier roots, including the 1920s, when secularized Turkey had moved to discard religion. Then, Ankara had officially focused on a voluntaristic, territorial, and political understanding of the nation. The republic had voiced this in its 1924 constitution, the CHP documents, as well as a number of speeches by its leaders.
