Ziya Gökalp’s political sociology

Abstract

Regarded as the founder of Sociology in Turkey, Ziya Gökalp©s influence has not been confined to the
social sciences. Gökalp’s thoughts shaped the formation of the Republic of Turkey after the
dissolution of Ottoman Empire. Gökalp’s traces can be found in the public’s political, economic and
socio-cultural restructuring. In an attempt to combine social values (national culture) with the
elements of Western civilizations that inspired his thinking, Gökalp considered the relations between
the politics and society and asserted that the structures and identities to be constructed should be
imposed by the state through the elites that were aware of the people’s conditions, referring also to
authoritarian methods as necessary.