Identity, nationhood and migrations to Turkey from the Balkans, 1950–1960
| Published date | 01 April 2022 |
| Author | Ali Erken |
| Date | 01 April 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12865 |
International Migration. 2022;60:95–106.
|
95
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
INTRODUCTION
The breakup of th e Ottoman State in the Balkans invo lved a long series of war, migration and ne gotiation since
the early 19th centu ry. Parallel to these develo pments, in the making of new nat ional cultures in the new Bal kan
states the Ot toman past was displayed as t he “other.” The Ottoman “yoke” was a widely u sed term in the Serbian
and Bulgarian historiographies since the late 19th century to indicate painful legacy of this relationship (Blumi,
2011: 111; Davidova, 2013: 155– 165; Ersoy et al., 2010; Faruqhi & Ad anır, 2002: 4; Todorova, 2004: 4; Stav rinos,
2000: 376– 378). The wave of continuous m igrations and vicious s truggles left its m ark on the formation of a new
Turkish national ident ity as well. The “Turk” as an e thnic denominator st arted to be used more f requently after th e
independen ce of Balkan states in the 19th centur y. For those Muslims who had left t he Balkans, Anatolia which
was imagined as the heartland of the Turkish Republic became th e new home (Hanioğlu, 2013: 133–134; Keyder,
2005: 8– 9). Migration to Turkey among th e Muslim minority in t he region continued af ter 1918 for various reasons
Received: 25 Se ptember 2020
|
Revised: 18 Februa ry 2021
|
Accepted: 10 April 20 21
DOI: 10 .1111/imig .12865
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Identity, nationhood and migrations to Turkey
from the Balkans, 1950–1960
Ali Erken
© 2021 The Author s. Internationa l Migration © 2021 IOM
Marmara Uni versity, Kadıköy/İsta nbul,
Turkey
Correspondence
Ali Erken, Mar mara Universit y, Eğitim,
Fahrettin Ker im Gökay Cd., 34722 Kad ıköy/
İstanbul, Turkey.
Email: erkenali1@gmail.com
Abstract
The article exa mines identity politics in Turkey through m i-
grations from the B alkans in t he early ye ars of Cold War.
Despite secularisation reforms in the 1920s and 1930s,
Muslim identity remained a central component in the for-
mation of Turkish nationhood. In the wake of W W II, Turkey
chose to be a part of Western world whereas her t wo re-
gional neighbours , Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, remained in t he
Socialist bloc. Nearly 500,000 Turks, Bosnians, Albanians
and Pomaks in Yugoslavia and Bulg aria were either forced,
or "encouraged," to leave their lands after 1950. Despite
ideological barriers and ethnic differences, Turkey wel-
comed these migrants to the country. Official records, re-
cently available biographies and oral sources shed light on
the discourses of ide ntity politics through this pe riod.
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