Changing perception of homeland for the Kazakh diaspora

Abstract

There is a sizable Kazakh diaspora living in Turkey and Europe. Since their initial migration, these Kazakhs have been involved in actions aiming to preserve their group's cultural and ethnic boundaries. By studying these actions and related discourses, this article seeks to explain how these groups formulated and reformulated their identities and loyalties in their host states over generations. Many Kazakhs in Turkey and Europe originally came from Eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang) and considered this area their homeland. However, Kazakhstan's independence in 1991 led to an important change in their homeland orientation and, after 1991, the activities of an increasing number of Kazakh diaspora organizations shifted toward Kazakhstan as the homeland. Therefore, this article focuses mainly on two periods: the period before and the period after Kazakhstan's independence. The fieldwork was conducted in Turkey, Germany, France, and the Netherlands and includes interviews with leaders of Kazakh diaspora organizations and other members of the diaspora.

Keywords:

• Kazakh
• diaspora
• homeland
• identity
• Xinjiang

Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Meryem Hakim, Abdülsamet Altay, and Dr. Kayyum Kesici for their help and support. I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.

Notes

1. Despite the presence of the newly formed Kazakh diaspora in Turkey and Europe due to migration from Kazakhstan in the post-1991 period, many of the active members of the diaspora are still made up of members from the earlier generations. According to some of my informants, the new diaspora members, especially in Europe, do not always prefer to be actively involved in Kazakh diaspora activities organized by their associations. The interaction of the old and new Kazakh diaspora members in Turkey and Europe could be an interesting topic for future research.

2. The year 2015 is celebrated as the 550th anniversary of the formation of the Kazakh Khanate. The celebration should be thought of in the context of Russian President Putin's latest remarks questioning Kazakh statehood and Kazakhstan's response emphasizing the deep roots of Kazakh statehood.