From the Sick Man of Europe to the Tragic Man of Anatolia

This article explores Turkey’s collective identity through Heinz Kohut’s concept of the “group self.” The decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire, followed by wars, occupations, and mass migrations, inflicted profound narcissistic injuries on the national self. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk emerged as an idealized selfobject, fostering a cohesive “we-self” during the War of Independence and the foundation of the Republic. Yet, the rapid reforms of the early Republic, combined with unresolved historical traumas and their intergenerational transmission, left enduring fractures in the collective self. Today, tensions between secular and religious segments, together with challenges posed by refugee migration and unprocessed collective traumas, continue to fragment national cohesion. Within Kohut’s framework, idealization, mirroring, and twinship functions are vital for stability and integration. The article argues that psychoanalytic perspectives and the strengthening of mental health practices are essential to address collective trauma and support the development of a cohesive national self in contemporary Turkey.