MUSTAFA ÇOKAY’IN TÜRK BİRLİĞİ VİZYONU VE BUNUN TÜRK DEVLETLERİ TEŞKİLATI’NDAKİ ÇAĞDAŞ YANSIMALARI

This article examines the intellectual and historical foundations of Mustafa Chokayev’s vision of unity in the Turkic world, formulated in the 1920s, and analyzes how these ideas resonate with current interstate cooperation among independent Turkic republics. Chokayev’s approach is grounded in common language, cultural affinity, and shared historical consciousness. His model, based on voluntarism, equality, and strategic realism, offers a pluralist and pragmatic alternative to ethnonationalist Pan-Turkist ideologies. First, the study contextualizes Chokayev’s political experience in Turkestan before 1921 and his exile years in Europe, highlighting his publishing activities and his efforts to promote Turkestan’s cause in the international arena. It then draws parallels between his ideas and the institutional practices of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), particularly in the areas of education, alphabet reform, cultural cooperation, and economic integration. The article argues that the OTS embodies a modern continuation of Chokayev’s principles and vision. Consequently, Chokayev emerges not merely as a historical figure, but as a strategic thinker whose legacy continues to shape the evolving political and cultural landscape of the Turkic world today.