Sosyoloji ve Hukuk Disiplinleri Bağlamında Bir Karşılaştırma: Maurice Hauriou ve Ziya Gökalp

This study provides a comparative analysis of two contemporary scholars’ approaches that cut across the disciplines law and sociology. The comparison is made through the concepts of ‘Idea Element”, one of the founding elements of the Institution Theory of Maurice Hauriou (1856 – 1929), the most important representative of the Toulouse School of Law, and ‘Mefkûre’ of Ziya Gökalp (1875 / 1876 – 1924), one of the important names of the discipline of sociology in Turkey. The study has two main aims: The first one is to determine the range of meanings attributed to the concept by analyzing the French sociological schools that Gökalp was influenced by when he used the concept of “Mefkure”. Secondly, to analyze Gökalp’s notion of “Mefkûre” by comparing it with the “Idea Element” of the Institution Theory, which has an important place in the field of French law and administrative sciences. Comparing Hauriou’s “Idea Element” which is one of the founding elements of Institution Theory with Gökalp’s concept of Mefkûre” has two important contributions: The first contribution is to analyze Gökalp’s concept of “Mefkûre” by directing it to the fields of sociology, law and administrative sciences. The second contribution is to examine the concept of ‘Mefkûre’ within the disciplines of sociology, law and administrative sciences, thereby establishing it as an analytical unit that explains the formation and construction process of the Republic of Turkey as a modern nation-state. As a result, the explanatory potential of Gökalp’s concept of “Mefkûre” for concrete historical conditions becomes clear and evident when compared with the “Idea Element” one of the founding elements of Hauriou’s Institution Theory.