The Turks of Bulgaria
An Outlier Case of Forced Migration and Voluntary Return
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9954875 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Muzaffer Kutlay (University of Kent UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 162-179 |
| Publication date | 2017-09-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Migration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/imig.12381 |
| OpenAlex | W2755657876 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 42 |
The Turks of Bulgaria have a particular place in displacement scholarship. As the largest minority group in the country, they were subjected to ethnic cleansing in the 1980s. Anti‐Turkish sentiments culminated in state‐led systematic exclusion and more than 340,000 Turks were forcefully migrated to Turkey in 1989. After the collapse of Communism and the transition to democracy, almost 40 per cent of them voluntarily returned to Bulgaria, making it an outlier case in displacement literature. Drawing on 46 semi‐structured interviews, this study contributes to the literature by offering a grounded conceptual framework which explains the macro‐dynamics of voluntary and sustainable return through an in‐depth study of the Bulgarian case. The findings suggest that three‐factors account for the voluntary return: (i) the peaceful transition to inclusive democracy and power‐sharing; (ii) the dual moderation between majority and minority representatives; and (iii) the enabling role of international actors, primarily the EU ‐anchor
Bulgarian · Communism · Democracy · Demographic economics · Development economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Forced migration · Political economy · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · Turkish · European Union Policy and Governance · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Turkey's Politics and Society
The European Union and Border Conflicts
Development Created Population Displacement
Europe Undivided
The Dark Side of Democracy
Longing, Belonging and Locations of Homeland among Turkish Immigrants from Bulgaria
Nationalism Reframed
Tracing the Progress of Process Tracing
State Control of Minorities in Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Turkish Names Conflict and Democratic Transition
Home is Where the Heart Is? Forced Migration and Voluntary Return in Turkey's Kurdish Regions
The Successful Laggards
What Has Limited the EU's Impact on Minority Rights in Accession Countries
The Balkans
Bulgaria
The Turks in Bulgaria
The Turkish Minority in Contemporary Bulgaria
Collective Identity and Well-Being of Bulgarian Roma Adolescents and Their Mothers
Special Issue Discourses of Displacement and Deservingness
Irregular Workers or Ethnic Kin? Post‐1990s Labour Migration from Bulgaria to Turkey
The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies
Turks in Bulgaria and the Netherlands
Brief report
From a Collection of Identities to Collective Identity
The Dark Side of Democracy
Interviewing the Political Elite
Transforming Conflicts on EU Borders
Conducting and Coding Elite Interviews
Electing to fight
Researching Society and Culture
Heritage Identity and Maintenance Enhance Well-Being of Turkish-Bulgarian and Turkish-German Adolescents
Remembering across the border
What's in a name? Minorities, identity, and politics in Bulgaria
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,56 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |