Project Objective

The project aims to conduct an interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the everyday lives of ethnic Kazakh repatriates, their needs, interests, and living conditions at the micro level in order to understand the adaptive strategies and integration practices they employ within the political-legal, economic, and socio-cultural systems of Kazakhstani society, taking into account the historical, cultural, and socio-economic specificities of the Zhetysu Region.

Project Tasks

1. To examine theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of adaptation and integration phenomena and to conduct a literature review and media content analysis.

Measurable indicators: theoretical concepts and methodological approaches to adaptation and integration studies will be reviewed and systematized; a comprehensive literature review on the project topic will be conducted; and public discourse concerning the adaptation and integration of ethnic repatriates will be identified through media analysis.

2. To analyze the legal and institutional contexts of adaptation and integration of ethnic repatriates in the Zhetysu Region.

This task focuses on legal aspects of adaptation and integration, including issues related to citizenship acquisition, access to public services, and rights to housing, employment, education, and other social benefits.

Key indicators: number of expert interviews conducted; analysis of relevant legal acts, regulations, and policy documents.

3. To investigate the everyday lives of repatriates through field-based ethnographic research.

This task involves conducting comprehensive field expeditions in the Zhetysu Region. Fieldwork will include participant observation, sociological surveys, focus groups, and interviews with repatriates and experts.

Measurable indicators: quantity and quality of interviews and focus groups conducted; participant coverage; and the creation of a new empirical database on the everyday lives of repatriates.

4. To examine adaptive strategies of economic integration among repatriates in Zhetysu.

This task will focus on studying the extent of repatriates’ participation in the local labor market, identifying barriers to economic integration and labor market entry, and analyzing the selection of adaptive strategies and practices used to integrate into the economic system of the host society.

Measurable indicators: identification of economic adaptation strategies; assessment of labor, professional, and entrepreneurial self-realization; comparison of household material well-being before and after repatriation; and analysis of skills formation for economic interaction in the local labor market.

5. To identify socio-cultural adaptation strategies of repatriates in Zhetysu.

This task aims to explore adaptive strategies employed by repatriates in their everyday lives as mechanisms for integration into the socio-cultural system of the host society.

Measurable indicators: identification of strategies for positive interaction with local residents; examination of the formation of social ties and communication networks after repatriation; assessment of the acceptance of social norms and cultural realities; and identification of language-related and psychological adaptation challenges.

6. To evaluate the effectiveness of adaptive strategies as integration practices among repatriates.

This task will investigate the effectiveness of adaptation strategies used by repatriates, taking into account the historical, cultural, and socio-economic specificities of the Zhetysu Region.

Measurable indicators: creation of a database on adaptive behavior and factors influencing strategy selection; evaluation of the effectiveness of adaptation strategies; identification of the most successful adaptation practices; and development of a scientific and practical basis for policy recommendations for local executive authorities and migration services working with ethnic repatriates.

7. To disseminate and validate the research findings.

Project Rationale

This project seeks to address existing research gaps by providing a more comprehensive understanding of how repatriates manage their everyday lives and cope with the challenges they encounter. In addition, a comparative analysis of adaptation and integration experiences among repatriates who arrived during different periods of Kazakhstan’s independence will be conducted in order to capture changes in their lives throughout the post-Soviet transformation process. Studying adaptation strategies in this context will help identify regional specificities that distinguish Zhetysu from other regions and deepen understanding of local integration practices.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of the project, the following results will be achieved:

• New social science and humanities knowledge will be generated regarding the processes of adaptation and integration of ethnic repatriates in post-Soviet Kazakhstan.
• The legal and institutional contexts of adaptation and integration of ethnic repatriates in the Zhetysu Region will be analyzed, including issues related to citizenship acquisition, access to public services, housing, employment, education, and healthcare.
• A new empirical database will be created on the everyday lives, adaptive strategies, and practices of economic, legal, and socio-cultural integration of ethnic repatriates in the Zhetysu Region.
• Major barriers and challenges hindering adaptation processes, as well as factors and mechanisms facilitating integration into the host society, will be identified.
• The effectiveness and causal determinants of adaptation strategies employed by ethnic repatriates in everyday life will be evaluated.
• The most successful practices of adaptation to the social, cultural, economic, and legal realities of the Zhetysu Region will be identified.
• A scientific and practical foundation will be developed for recommendations to local executive authorities and migration services of the Zhetysu Region concerning work with ethnic repatriates.

Planned Research Outputs

As a result of the project, the following publications and outcomes will be achieved:

1. At least two (2) articles or review papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and ranked in the first (Q1) or second (Q2) quartile according to the Web of Science Impact Factor, and/or having a CiteScore percentile of at least 50 in Scopus.
2. At least four (4) articles and/or review papers published in peer-reviewed international and/or domestic journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (CQASHE).
3. At least one (1) monograph, approved by the university’s Academic Council and published by a Kazakhstan-based publishing house.
4. The training and successful graduation of one (1) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities.