Negotiated boundaries: Identity and transnational attachments among the Turks of Bulgaria

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2021

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: ÖZGE KAYTAN GÜMÜRDÜ

Danışman: Besim Can Zırh

Özet:

This thesis analyzes negotiated identity strategies of the Turks of Bulgaria in the two different national settings. The existence of the Turks of Bulgaria has been a problem since Bulgaria won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. Although discriminatory attitudes towards Turks continued throughout the history, the state policy of the assimilation of the Turkish minority peaked in 1980s. The assimilation policy resulted in the migration of Turks in 1989 with high numbers, which was described as a mass exodus of the time. Turks of Bulgaria have been living in the edge of homeland/motherland dilemma, with the feelings of in-betweenness. This thesis aims to understand a continuous migrant status of Bulgarian-Turkish migrants in Turkey in relation to their minority status in Bulgaria. This thesis traces the ways of negotiating, expressing and performing who they are and where they belong.