The Nation-State Building Process and the Assimilation and Deportation Policies against the Turkish Minority Group: The Case of Bulgaria

Abstract

For over five centuries, Bulgarians and Turks coexisted in harmony within today's Bulgarian territories. However, the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire precipitated a fundamental shift in this dynamic. The establishment of the Bulgarian state in 1908, grounded in the ideology of the nation-state, precipitated an assimilation process directed towards minority groups in Bulgaria, notably Turkish communities. Following the adoption of communism, the Bulgarian regime sought to establish a distinct communist culture, marking the inception of a new assimilation process towards minority groups. During the 1980s, the communist regime intensified its repression of Turkish minorities, resulting in the systematic alteration of Turkish names. The consequence of the systematic assimilation of minorities culminated in the mass expulsion of over 300,000 Turks to Turkey in 1989. This study aims to investigate the prevailing ideas and attitudes regarding the assimilation and deportation processes of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria from 1980 to 1989. This paper asserts the existence of both assimilation and deportation processes targeting the Turkish minority in Bulgaria. The research question guiding this study is: How did the processes of assimilation and deportation toward the Turkish minority in Bulgaria occur, and what were the reasons behind that process? The study posits that these policies were not standalone actions but rather part of a broader state strategy aimed at achieving ethnic homogenization and solidifying a unified national identity. By connecting a specific historical case to wider theoretical discussions on nation-state building and forced migration, this article enhances our understanding of the relationship between state power and minority rights. The study is based on a historical-analytical approach, drawing on secondary literature and archival sources.

Keywords

• Bulgaria
• Assimilation
• Deportation
• Nation state building
• Minorities

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