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The article studies the historical dynamics which led to the emergence of a pendulum between liberalization/ globalization and national security in Turkey. To understand these dynamics requires two main missions. First, by looking into the political liberalization initiatives of the late Ottoman era and their relation with the tremendous public concern over the empire's security, the article explores the genealogy and formation as well as the overwhelmingly shared perception of a dichotomous relationship between security and liberalization. Second, by carrying out a detailed analysis of the two attempts to introduce multi-party politics during the republican era, the article shows how the previously identified dichotomy between liberalization and security developed into a "national security syndrome."