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Defined both in an individual and in a social or cultural context, identity is a historical phenomenon; a consistent, complete sense of identity develops in the historical process. Social relations created by historical conditions shape Turkish identity, just like other collective identities. Revealed as one of the oldest nations in history, Turkish identity has also been shaped by the amalgamation of the effects created by the rule of law in the collective consciousness. Despite the fact that the length of the historical process makes it difficult to clearly identify the stages of the adventure, when studying Turkish identity it is necessary to look at the Ottoman Empire, which is a prerequisite for the modern Turkish state, and the self-identification of the society that feels belonging to the above state. Indeed, it is not very wrong to associate the phenomenon of identity as a topic of discussion with the relationship of the Ottoman state with the modern nation states of the West. In this context, it would be appropriate to touch upon the perception of identity in the Ottoman Empire.

This study interprets the modern understanding of ethnic and national identity. It was noted that there is an important connection between ethnic and national identity, created on the basis of nation-building processes. Since the 1990s, nationalism that has been at the top of the international agenda, new nations and state building processes, problems of ethnic identity, which have become an important item on the agenda in relations between states and international organizations, a new quest for democracy that develops through the recognition of differences, growing cultural conflicts in many regions from Asia to the American continent, and social movements based on identity have raised identity politics to an important position in international relations. In this context, international relations theorists, who have increased their ties to political theory in a way that has accelerated especially in the 1990s, are rebuilding the discipline's relationship with identity politics.