The salute of Turkey’s ultranationalist Grey Wolves made by Turkish national footballer Merih Demiral during a European Championship match against Austria has sparked widespread debate in Turkey, write academics Özgür Sevgi Göral and Foti Benlisoy in an article published by Artı Gerçek on Monday. Turkish nationalist reactions following UEFA’s decision to suspend Demiral for two matches have raised concerns about the growing normalisation of fascist symbols in Turkey.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry defended the salute as a “historical and cultural symbol”, while popular pundits like İlber Ortaylı called it a common emblem of the Turkish nation. A broad consensus quickly emerged, with the Turkish nationalist Good (İYİ) Party even preparing a bill to officially recognise the Grey Wolf sign as the “national symbol of the Turks”.
Merih Demiral’s public endorsement of the Grey Wolf movement, marked by his statement that the group’s symbol is “a common symbol of the Turkish nation”, signals the mainstreaming of fascist ideologies and the reinforcement of a post-fascist framework in Turkey, said Göral and Benlisoy.
According to the academics, the mainstreaming of fascist symbols in Turkey is not a new phenomenon. Since the 1990s, there has been a concerted effort to redefine the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a party currently in Turkey’s ruling coalition with roots in the country’s fascist tradition, as a respectable political entity. This trend mirrors global shifts following the collapse of “real socialism” in 1989, which saw the erosion of the anti-fascist consensus that had been strong since WWII.
Göral and Benlisoy argue that classical anti-fascist interpretations are increasingly dismissed as outdated, and movements like Turkey’s MHP, France’s National Rally, and Italy’s National Alliance are now seen as legitimate parts of the “centre-right.” This shift has facilitated the legitimisation of fascist symbols and practices.
It is reinforced by a new historical narrative that downplays the crimes of fascism and equates fascist violence with anti-fascist resistance. Known as the “post-antifascist” paradigm, this approach views antifascism as ideological dogma and seeks to dismantle it, thus helping to discredit anti-fascist resistance by focusing on its “crimes” and violence.Turkey, this shift was supported by the media narrative portraying the violent conflicts of the late 20th century as a “left-right conflict,” where both sides were victims of “dark centres”, depoliticising the memory of those killed by fascist violence and recasting fascists as legitimate political actors.
The case of Merih Demiral and the Grey Wolf salute exemplifies the mainstreaming of fascist symbols. Göral and Benlisoy argue that framing this issue as a mere historical or conceptual debate overlooks the severity of the current legitimisation of fascism. To combat the normalisation of fascism, they call for an anti-fascist stance that draws on historical traditions while addressing contemporary manifestations.
