Contested nationalisms : Turkish nationalist propaganda in the Sanjak of Alexandretta

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the Turkish nationalist propaganda carried out in the Sanjak of Alexandretta during the process of annexation to demonstrate that the Sanjak provides a special case for the study of Republican Turkish nationalism by showing its highly pragmatic and speculative political/ideological discourse in the 1930s. The ways with which the Sanjak region was integrated into the newly defined “Turkish nation” are examined by utilizing archival documents, secondary sources as well as oral history interviews. The special case of the migration of the conservative Sunni Turks to Damascus and the nationalist propaganda towards the Alawite population of the region are brought forward as examples for the pragmatically inclusive nature of Kemalist nationalism.