Gökalp gave "the nation" an important mystical component. In his work, "he transferred to the nation the divine qualities he had found in society, replacing the belief in God with the belief in nation: and so nationalism became a religion." The national is deified, thus expanding Durkheim's idea that "society can do as it pleases." So, if a nation perceives itself in danger, it feels no moral responsibility in its response to that danger. The Unionist "scientific approach" gained a "sacred" character through Gökalp's theories.
Taner Akçam
armenian-genocide, nationalism, patriotism, religion-and-science, turkish-authors