ABSTRACT
Homeland states are increasingly in close contact with their diasporas for a variety of reasons. Kazakhstan, soon after its independence in 1991, adopted the role and discourse of a homeland. For millions of Kazakhs living outside Kazakhstan, this was a thrilling development. As part of its homeland policies, the country not only initiated an ethnic return migration policy enabling the return of more than one million Kazakhs making up the diaspora since 1992 but also designed institutions and policies to reach out to its diaspora living in various host states. Therefore, in this chapter, my analysis will be twofold: I will first examine the evolving policies and discourses of the Kazakhstani state towards its diaspora and, following this, look at the policies it has created to enable the ethnic return migration of Kazakhs residing abroad.
