Abstract
Analyzing Ottoman, Turkish, and Yugoslav sources, this chapter examines how the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Turkish Republic understood migration of Muslims as a practical part of their postwar nation and state-building processes, culminating in an officially sanctioned population transfer. Consideration of demographics permeated both states’ nation-building projects. Having acquired new territories in World War I, Serbian-led Yugoslavia wanted to rid itself of ethnically diverse Muslims in its south Turkey saw a need for boosting population for economic, political, and security reasons. Muslim identity played a key factor in categorizing moveable populations, undesirable for Yugoslavia and preferred by Turkey.