Ottoman vs. Kemalist nostalgia: Contrasting effects on Turkish populism

This article examines how collective nostalgia interacts with populism in Turkey.

Context & Core Question:

How do populist leaders strategically use nostalgic appeals to shape public sentiment?

It explores whether Turkey's electorate associates nostalgic feelings with populist attitudes and if specific nostalgic narratives can sway these views.

🔍 Data & Methods:

Two Original Turkish Datasets + Online Survey Experiment

💡 Key Findings:

• Collective nostalgia strongly correlates with populist voting intentions even after accounting for factors like religiosity and life satisfaction.
• Ottoman nostalgia (reference to the past under the Ottoman Empire) boosts populist attitudes significantly in survey respondents.
• Kemalist nostalgia (nostalgia for Turkey's republican era) shows minimal impact once party preferences are considered.

📜 Why It Matters:

This research reveals that Turkish politicians strategically leverage different historical narratives through nostalgic appeals. They find greater resonance with Ottoman-era references than Kemalist ones, showing a complex relationship between collective memory and political identity.