In 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union turned former internal boundaries
into international frontiers and left millions of people stranded on the wrong
side of the border. This paper explores this intertwined population issue in
Central Asia and particularly the triadic nexus between the kin-states, their
kin-minorities abroad and the host-states where they reside. I argue here that
the concept of diaspora should not be approached in substantialist terms as a
static bounded entity exhibiting a range of archetypical diasporic traits. It
should rather qualify the dynamic interaction between the stakeholders of this
triadic nexus and the way kin-states of Central Asia do or do not ‘diasporize’
their kin-minorities abroad. The paper distinguishes several levels of
‘diasporization’ from mere diaspora rhetoric to pan-ethnic gatherings,
bilateral agreements and eventually overt repatriation policies.