This lecture examines how contemporary Turkish poli-
tical life is shaped by a cultural repertoire that sacralizes
political leadership, human sacrifice, and Staatsräson.
While paternal models of rule in Turkey long predate
Atatürk, Kemalism as a foundational ideology and as
a lasting leader cult has structured a political landsca-
pe in which charismatic authority is reproduced across
the party spectrum, and contestations over Kemalism
continue to shape rival visions of the “father of the na-
tion.” Across these same political divides stands a pan-
theon of martyrs whose sacralized sacrifices ideologi-
cally anchor political commitments, culturally embed
political violence, and emotionally reproduce political
hostilities across generations. At the center lies a wide-
spread belief in the sacredness of the state and a tradi-
tion of statist nationalism that subordinates individual
citizenship, civil society, and social justice to the mo-
ral primacy of the state (devlet) and its eternal survival
(bekâ). This lecture explores how these forms of politi-
cal sacralization animate ideological contestations, me-
mory regimes, and categories of belonging in Turkey.