Cold War Nationalism in Samsun (original) (raw)

The port city of Samsun has been known as the launching station of Turkish Independence War ever since the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, landed there in 1919. His first step in Samsun was also a step toward the foundation of a Turkish nation state. Turkish state’s investment on nationalist indoctrination has shown its outcome strongly along the Black Sea coast, especially in Samsun. Today, the residents of Turkish Black Sea coast have been referred as one of the most nationalist groups in Turkey. This article covers the roots of Cold War nationalism in Samsun and its vicinity and analyzes this nationalist understanding in light of nationalist theories.