The Nationalist Movement Party’s “Nation Sector” Doctrine and Its Reflections on the Election Campaign During the June 5, 1977 Turkish General Election Process

Abstract

The Nationalist Movement Party carried out a special election strategy during the June 5, 1977 General Elections and prepared for the elections using a doctrine called the "Nation Sector.” In this process, party leader Alparslan Türkeş started the election campaign with a rally he organized in Çorum on May 15, 1977. Finally, on June 4, 1977, he held a rally in Eskişehir.

The strategy used by Alparslan Türkeş and MHP cadres in the elections is the view of Toplumculuk based on the doctrine of the "Nation Sector." Toplumculuk, which is generally based on the understanding of the economic development of the people and thus the creation of an organized public base, was accepted as a socioeconomic idea until June 5, 1977.

The main purpose of the study is to determine how the MHP prepared for the last "general elections" that took place before the September 12, 1980 Military Coup and to reveal the dominant strategies it created at the center of nationalism-based doctrines throughout the process. For this reason, research questions were determined with a focus on what the doctrine of the "Nation Sector" is, how the idea of socialism is analyzed and how the views expressed in the rallies held during the country tours are adapted to the discourse plane.

In the article, press sources were given priority as a methodological method to analyze the election process, and a comprehensive literature study based on primary sources was conducted by examining nationalist magazines and daily newspapers. Following the method and question sentences in question, it was concluded that the MHP made a more dynamic preparation compared to the previous election periods and was able to transfer its policies attributed to the "Nation Sector" strategy from theory to discourse practice.