In this thesis, I examine the historical adventure of the concept of ulus, which came
to be used as the counterpart of "nation" in the language reform process in Turkey in
the 1930s, based on the theoretical approach to conceptual history pioneered by
Reinhart Koselleck. The study examines Turkish political life and identity construction
through conceptual history and language nationalism. In this thesis, I explain different
types of language politics and their role in the process of nationalization in France,
Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. I discuss the changing sense of identity during
the Milli Mücadele period and the Republican period of Turkey, and the new Turkish
identity that started to be produced at the end of the 1920s. I narrate the language
reform process in parallel with the Turkish history thesis and discuss the new secular
Turkish identity in the process of nationalization. I begin by offering a short
conceptual history of the term millet, after which I explain the etymology of the term
ulus, the use of the term until the 13th century, and the changing meaning of the
term in the Ottoman world over time. In doing so, I draw from etymological
dictionaries, epics, inscriptions, ancient Turkish works, works of the TDK (Turkish
Language Association), and newspapers. I discuss the struggle between the use of the
terms ulus, millet, and budun and the process whereby the former term came to
dominate. I describe the use of the concept of ulus in different circles. I explain in
detail and with examples that the difference between ulus and millet was the result
of an ideological divide. I also show how the concepts have become ideological
symbols, particularly in terms of the differences between milliyetçilik and ulusalcılıkAbstract ....................................................................................................................... iv
Öz ................................................................................................................................ vi
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... ix
Table of Contents .........................................................................................................xi
List of Tables ............................................................................................................... xiii
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. xiv
CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION: ON CONCEPTUAL HISTORY AND ITS IMPORTANCE ...................... 1
1.1. Literature and Research Sources ....................................................................... 9
1.2. Outline of Chapters ......................................................................................... 13
2. THE FICTION OF A ZEITGEIST: NATIONALISM AND LANGUAGE POLITICS .............. 15
2.1. From Natio to Nation: on the Genealogy of a Concept................................... 16
2.2. The Politicization of the Concept .................................................................... 20
2.3. Language as a Pillar of the Nation State .......................................................... 21
2.4. Types of Language Policy and Examples ......................................................... 25
2.4.1. France ....................................................................................................... 29
2.4.2. Germany ................................................................................................... 31
2.5. Language Planning and the Ottoman Experience ........................................... 33
3. BUILDING A NATION: FROM MILLET TO ULUS ....................................................... 41
3.1. The Milli Mücadele and religious borders of the Turkish identity .................. 41
3.1.1. Turkishness until the Establishment of the Republic ............................... 42
3.2. The Establishment and Secularization of the Republic ................................... 48
3.3. Transition to ethno-secular nationalism; from Millet to Ulus......................... 56
3.3.1. The instrumentalization of history for the new identity .......................... 56
3.3.2. Language Movements in the Light of the History Thesis ......................... 62
3.4. Politization of a Religious Term; History of Millet ........................................... 72
3.5. Resuscitation of a Term: Variable History of Ulus ........................................... 75
3.4.1. Etymology of the Term ............................................................................. 76
3.4.2. Ottoman Usage of the Term ..................................................................... 78
3.4.3. A Concept in Operating Room: The Revitalization of Ulus ....................... 81
4. ULUS IN CONTEMPORARY USAGE .......................................................................... 90
4.1. Being of Two Minds; Ulus, Millet, Budun ........................................................ 92
4.2. Two Types of Nationalisms: Ulusçuluk and Milliyetçilik .................................. 95
4.3. Ulusalcılık ......................................................................................................... 98
5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 104
References ................................................................................................................ 113
Appendix .................................................................................................................. 12
