“Border is Honor†: In the Footsteps of Secular Populist Nationalism

There are several observations and assessments on the rise of a new version of nationalism in Turkey. What makes this version of nationalism -which is called secular nationalism- is not the fact that its secularist characteristics, as the secular forms of Turkish nationalism had already existed in the past. The present day secular nationalism is distinguished from its past versions by asserting that immigrants/refugees are the real threat to the survival of the nation and Turkishness and building an us/them distinction based upon this assertion. This new version of nationalism gains its populist and fresh character by this means. The secular-populist nationalism is still in development and does not have any theoretician, ideologue, or media outlet yet. Therefore, this study pursued the “specter of secular-populist nationalism†. To do that, it focuses on the subject of immigrants/refugees by inspecting the important incidents that explain the grip of secular-populist nationalism and the discourse and policies of specific political figures and organizations towards immigrants/refugees. The study focuses on Ümit Özdağ and his Zafer Party most because of their attitude towards immigrants/refugees and inspects the manifesto and program of the party and Ümit Özdağ’s populist performance in great detail. This study ends with a debate on the possibilities of secular nationalism and its place in the future of Turkish politics.