Ma`rifat Siyasi

In recent decades, the synergy of neo-Ottomanism and Pan-Turkism in Türkiye and the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the exploitation of ethnic agitation in northwestern Iran, have once again activated identity and territorial threats. This research, based on historical sociology and a comparative approach, examines how the two currents of Islamism and nationalism confronted Pan-Turkist movements from the Constitutional Revolution to the end of the first Pahlavi dynasty. The research method is qualitative and the data was collected through documentary studies and social historical analysis. The results show that in the context of political instability, the experience of losing parts of the territory, and the necessity of a centralized state, both currents agreed on preserving territorial integrity and national cohesion; however, important differences in approach and tools are evident. Nationalists relied on the memory of Iranshahr, the consolidation of geographical borders, and history-oriented narratives; while Islamists focused on religious-cultural cohesion, transnational solidarity networks of the nation, and defense mobilization. The research concludes that separatist movements, especially Pan-Turkism, led to the convergence of these two currents in identity and territorial defense; however, the differences in the bases of legitimacy and methods of mobilization led to the formation of different patterns of confrontation, and its effects are still visible in contemporary Iranian politics.