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- Convenor:
-
Botagoz Rakisheva
(Public Opinion Research Institute (Kazakhstan))
Send message to Convenor
- Chair:
-
Botagoz Rakisheva
(Public Opinion Research Institute (Kazakhstan))
- Discussant:
-
Sangcheol Kim
(Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)
- Format:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Sociology & Social Issues
Abstract
Today, representatives of the Kazakh/Kazakhstani diaspora live in more than 50 countries around the world. The majority of them are concentrated in neighbor countries of Kazakhstan, including Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China.
The history of the 20th century Kazakh migrations dates back to the 1930s, when groups of Kazakhs from Kazakhstan migrated to adjacent Soviet territories and Central Asian countries, but also to China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, and subsequently to Turkey. From Turkey, some of them later migrated to the Western European countries as a part of labor migration processes. Turkey became a key migration hub and a springboard for further migration to the Western Europe. Residence in the Republic of Turkey influenced the cultural and linguistic identification of Kazakhs.
Over the past ten years, new migration flows of citizens of Kazakhstan have been emerging. The diaspora is increasingly being formed through educational and labor migration.
An analysis of the new trends in the formation of the diaspora will be presented in the report by Kalamkas Yesimova, Ainur Ibraeva, and Aruzhan Komirtai, based on their research conducted in the United States, Canada, European countries, Malaysia, Singapore, and other regions.
The core of the Kazakh diaspora in European countries consists primarily of citizens of Turkey who migrated to Europe as a part of labor migration in the 1960s. This group of Kazakhs represents an important focus of diaspora policies implemented by both Kazakhstan and Turkey. This aspect will be addressed in the presentation by Anar Somuncuoglu.
One of the countries where a Kazakh diaspora has formed relatively recently is the United States of America. This is confirmed by demographic, professional, and educational data that indicate a steady growth in the number of Kazakhstanis living in the United States over recent decades. The presentation by Gulnash Askhat and Aitimbet L. will analyze the state of ethnicity and identity among Kazakhstanis living in the United States based on empirical research.
The panel session was organized by the Research Institute Public Opinion (Astana) in partnership with the Institute of Central Asian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul).
Accepted papers
Abstract
The life and integration of immigrants from Kazakhstan and the broader Central Asian region in the United States remain underexplored in academic literature. Beyond general census data, there is limited systematic statistical information on these communities. This study examines the socio-economic, cultural, and institutional characteristics of the Kazakh diaspora in the United States, with a particular focus on the risks of losing national identity. The research explores how members of the diaspora maintain cultural connections with Kazakhstan while navigating cross-cultural environments and transnational realities.
The study is based on sociological fieldwork conducted in 2024 using mixed methods, including online surveys (N = 300), in-depth interviews (N = 27), focus group discussions, and expert interviews. The findings suggest that while the Kazakh diaspora demonstrates a relatively high level of integration into American society, this process is accompanied by challenges such as language attrition, weakening of cultural practices, and generational identity shifts. The paper argues that the Kazakh diaspora represents a transnational community balancing between integration and cultural preservation. Without systematic institutional support, there is a significant risk of gradual identity erosion.
Keywords: migration, Kazakh diaspora, identity, transnationalism, assimilation, cultural preservation
Abstract
Since 1991, Kazakhstan has pursued a diaspora policy along two main lines: the ethnic repatriation of Kazakhs and the support of compatriots living abroad. Today, ethnic Kazakhs reside in more than 50 countries, yet over the past 10–15 years, new diaspora groups have emerged, formed by outward migration from Kazakhstan. These include educational, professional, labor, marriage‑related, and irregular migration, as well as political migrants. Some citizens relocate abroad with permanent or long‑term residence status, and the number of participants in the Green Card lottery has increased.
At present, comparatively large Kazakh communities have formed in the United States, Canada, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Educational migration includes master’s and doctoral students, some of whom remain abroad after graduation. A separate category consists of children studying in foreign schools and universities, a process that often leads to their families obtaining permanent or long‑term residency (for example, in Malaysia). Professional migration is frequently associated with the oil and gas industry (the United States and Scandinavian countries), particularly among migrants from western regions of Kazakhstan. Irregular and semi‑legal migration has grown in South Korea, Germany and Poland.
These developments raise new questions for researchers: Where should the boundary be drawn between “the diaspora” and “citizens of Kazakhstan who simply reside abroad”? Will the Kazakh diaspora become more “cosmopolitan” and less ethnically concentrated in the future? How should the role of different types of migration be interpreted in shaping the identities of newly formed Kazakh communities abroad?
Abstract
Turkey has a multifaceted policy towards “Turks abroad”, which include not only Turkish citizens and their descendants, but Turkish and Turkic peoples in different countries. Turkish citizens of various Turkic origins fall into both categories of “Turks abroad”, being “Turkish citizens” and so-called “compatriots” at the same time. Many Turkish citizens of Kazakh origin ended up in European countries mainly as a part of Turkish labor migration, and are simultaneously within the scope of Turkey’s and Kazakhstan’s diaspora policies. There are also cooperation activities of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Previous studies on this particular group of Kazakhs in Europe explored cultural ties and attachments to both countries and their multi-layered understandings of identity. This study aims to explore how Turkish diaspora engagement policies influence the identity and belonging of these particular group of Kazakhs in Europe. In addition to activities and religious services provided by Turkish governmental and non-governmental institutions, cooperation on diaspora issues within the OTS will be scrutinized. The study draws on Turkish official documents, interviews with Turkish officials and Kazakh diaspora leaders and representatives.