Ethnic repatriation as a cultural project: а comparative study of Kazakhstan, Germany, and Israel

Abstract

This article explores ethnic repatriation as a fundamentally cultural process in which returning to the historical homeland is shaped not only by legal and demographic mechanisms but by symbolic, narrative, and identity-based dynamics. Through a comparative analysis of Kazakhstan, Germany, and Israel, the article examines how each state frames repatriation policies through different cultural logics and how these frameworks affect the lived experiences of returnees. Special attention is given to the tension between legal belonging and cultural recognition, the transformation of diasporic identities, and the symbolic negotiation of national inclusion. The novelty of the study lies in its application of a comparative cultural studies framework, moving beyond traditional migration policy analysis. Repatriation is approached as a form of cultural imagination, in which returnees not only re-enter a national space but reshape the very meanings of nationhood, kinship, and memory.

Keywords: Cultural identity, diaspora, ethnic repatriation, memory, symbolic belonging, cultural adaptation, Kazakhstan, Germany, Israel.