Hybridization and Kazakh ethnic identity formation

Abstract

<p>The immigrant integration process became popular in literature, while hybridization studies have gained little space. The primary goal is to determine the characteristics that are important in the formation of Kazakh identity in Turkey, with an emphasis on conclusions from findings of survey study with a sample of 93 (N=93) participants. The participants served as subjects in a study designed to investigate how hybrid identities are constructed. The results revealed that Kazakhs attached a new kind of hybrid identity with more emphasize on Turkic roots and they reconstructed their ethnic identity which is not a product of assimilated fragile identity through globalization trends, but it is a new form of alive cultural and ethnic identity which carries its own values, preferences and its historical treasures from their past but acquires new traits from its Turkic identity at the same time. The paper also makes the case that studying Kirgiz in Turkey could improve this study by comparing those similar groups whether their identity formation traced similar way.</p>