Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter examines how Cold War dynamics reshaped Turkey’s political, cultural, and ideological landscape. It argues that the perceived Soviet threat and Turkey’s strategic role as a NATO frontline state not only entrenched a security-centered, military-dominated political order but also opened space for the fusion of Islam and nationalism. The chapter first explores the military’s transformation into the guardian of the Republic, showing how Kemalism was redefined as a security doctrine justifying authoritarian interventions. It then analyzes how Islam was mobilized as a counter-ideology against communism, culminating in the Turkish-Islamic Synthesis, which blurred secular nationalism with Islamic identity and became institutionalized after the 1980 coup. The discussion extends to literature and culture, where ideological battles mirrored political polarization, producing divergent nationalist, socialist, and Islamist narratives. The chapter demonstrates that Cold War geopolitics facilitated the Islamization of nationalism, empowered Islamist movements under state patronage, and intensified social cleavages between left and right, Sunni and Alevi, Turk and Kurd. In doing so, it reveals how the Cold War left a lasting imprint on Turkish political identity, legitimizing authoritarianism, recasting Kemalism, and embedding religion at the heart of nationalism.</jats:p>