This article was downloaded by: [Texas A&M University Libraries] On: 09 July 2013, At: 06:54 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Asian Ethnicity Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/caet20 The Kazakhs of Western Mongolia: transnational migration from 1990–2008 Holly Barcus a & Cynthia Werner b a Geography Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN, USA b Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, TX, USA Published online: 30 Jul 2010. To cite this article: Holly Barcus & Cynthia Werner (2010) The Kazakhs of Western Mongolia: transnational migration from 1990–2008, Asian Ethnicity, 11:2, 209-228, DOI: 10.1080/14631361003779463 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14631361003779463 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions Asian Ethnicity Vol. 11, No. 2, June 2010, 209–228 The Kazakhs of Western Mongolia: transnational migration from 1990–2008 Holly Barcusa* and Cynthia Wernerb aGeography Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN, USA; bDepartment of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, TX, USA The Kazakhs are the largest minority group in Mongolia, a relatively homogenous country dominated by Khalkh Mongols. Since 1991, Mongolia has transitioned politically and economically and witnessed significant changes in internal and international migration flows. The large-scale movement of ethnic Kazakhs from Western Mongolia to Kazakhstan represents one such emerging international flow. This migration is influenced by economic motivations, historical cultural ties to Kazakhstan, and immigration policies of both countries. This paper assesses the local and national circumstances that shape migration decision-making in Western Mongolia during the transition years and highlights changes in the characteristics and directions of migration flows during this time. We identify three periods of migration with each period characterized by changing economies and national policies in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, as well as changes in communications technologies and extensiveness of social networks among prospective migrants. These periods illustrate how transnational migra- tion flows evolve through time and are affected by national, local, and individual circumstances. Keywords: Kazakhs; migration; diaspora; repatriation; Mongolia; Kazakhstan Introduction and background Through the creation of national borders, individuals identifying strongly with one ethnic group have often been divided into two or more nation-states. Many ethnic groups have been further separated by migration as groups of individuals have left their home country and resettled in a new country for economic or political reasons. Downloaded by [Texas A&M University Libraries] at 06:54 09 July 2013 Physical separation, however, does not preclude the maintenance of strong ties. Glick Schiller et al. write that ‘. a new kind of migrating population is emerging composed of those whose networks, activities and patterns of life encompass both their host and home societies. Their lives cut across national boundaries and bring two societies into a single social field’.1 These ‘transnational migrants’ are often characterized as a new variety of migrant who make decisions in a much more globalized economic framework. Transportation and communication technologies facilitate connectedness between home and destination communities both at the individual or household scale as well as at the broader macro level scale. Such *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] 1Glick Schiller et al., ‘Transnationalism’, 1. ISSN 1463-1369 print/ISSN 1469-2953 online Ó 2010 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14631361003779463 http://www.informaworld.com 210 H. Barcus and C. Werner transnational connections can be equally important to diasporic identities, especially when some members of the group remain behind as others migrate to a territory they define as a homeland. Scholars of transnational migration argue that this type of migration needs to be approached from multiple scales (household and community, origin and destination) and to incorporate the influence of ‘macroeconomic forces and local economic trends and social practices’.2 Further, it is important to integrate both traditional models and understandings of migration behavior and the new global migratory realities. For example, the behavioral perspective on migration3 provides a framework in which we can understand the incremental migration decision from an individual perspective, while new global economic systems necessitate the framing of these decisions within broader national and global economic contexts. A key factor in the migration decision-making process is the acquisition and incorporation of new information by potential migrants. Social networks – and more recently in Mongolia, increased national and international television broadcasts, cellular phone coverage and internet access – has broadened awareness of world events and conditions. In a previous paper4, we highlight the importance of changes in communication and transportation technologies, and social networks to individual migration decisions focusing specifically on the choice not to migrate. Migration decisions, however, are also influenced by broader structural factors, such as changes in immigration policy in destination countries, economic fluctuations that privilege opportunity in one location over another and, as in the case of the Mongolian Kazakh diaspora, the availability of government-sponsored incentives to move. Numbering over 100,000, the Kazakhs are the largest ethnic minority in Mongolia. The majority of Mongolian Kazakhs live in the Western aimaq (province) of Bayan-Ulgii, a region that is near Kazakhstan yet separated by small strips of territory that belongs to Russia and China (see Figure 1).5 Before the fall of the Soviet Union, very few Mongolian Kazakhs had the opportunity to visit what was then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic due to Soviet practices that controlled population movements and travel. In the post-Soviet context, the creation of new nation-states and national borders, the relaxation of restrictions on movement, and the opening of borders between east and west brought about mass population movements at both the regional and global levels.6 One of the striking developments is the post-Soviet movement of groups, such as the Mongolian Kazakhs, who find themselves separated from their re-imagined homelands. Since 1991, the recently independent country of Kazakhstan has become one of three countries in the world Downloaded by [Texas A&M University Libraries] at 06:54 09 July 2013 (including Israel and Germany) that established programs to repatriate kinsmen living abroad. The largest populations of Kazakhs outside of Kazakhstan can be found in Russia, Uzbekistan, China, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkey.7 While the migration flows have vacillated over 2Cohen, ‘Transnational migration in rural Oaxaca’, 955. This need for migration models that reflect the multiplicity of scales of analyses and factors is echoed by other scholars as well (e.g. Sirkeci, ‘Transnational migration and conflict’; Glick Schiller, ‘Transnationalism’). 3Golledge and Stimson, Spatial Behavior, 451–456. 4Werner and Barcus, ‘Mobility and Immobility in a Transnational Context’, 52–53. 5National Statistical Office of Mongolia, Mongolian Population in the XX Century, 367, 369. 6Flynn, Migrant Resettlement in the Russian Federation. 7UNDP, Status of Oralmans in Kazakhstan,4. Asian Ethnicity 211 Figure 1. The study area of Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia. the years, over 464,000 Kazakhs have migrated to Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet period, including approximately 71,000 Kazakhs from Mongolia.8 The scope of this paper is limited to the migration of Mongolian Kazakhs. Previous studies note that following the initial migration to Kazakhstan, as many as one-third of the migrants have returned to Mongolia, disillusioned by their encounters with the homeland, including experiences with co-ethnics who view them as being ‘Other’ and label them as ‘Mongols’.9 Rather than assimilating fully into life in Kazakhstan,