A Threshold Between Two Cultures: Hybrid Identity and the Search for Belonging in The Buddha of Suburbia

Colonialism is not only a form of political and economic domination, but also a historical process that leaves lasting marks on cultural and psychological levels. Although classic colonial structures dissolved after World War II, issues of identity, belonging, and representation have persisted in different forms in the post-colonial era. This has become particularly evident in postcolonial literature, which developed in the second half of the 20th century. Postcolonial texts reveal the fragmented and negotiable nature of the post-colonial subject through concepts by Homi K. Bhabha such as cultural hybridity, identity crisis, ambivalence, and mimicry. Hanif Kureishi’s novel, The Buddha of Suburbia, is one of the important works at the centre of these discussions. Set in 1980s England, the novel combines both postmodern and postcolonial dynamics, reflecting cultural conflicts and the search for belonging through the experiences of Karim Amir, who possesses a hybrid identity. This study aims to analyse the transformative and sometimes destructive effects of cultural imperialism on individual identity by examining the novel within the framework of postcolonial theory. This analysis, conducted through the concepts of hybridity, ambivalence, mimicry, and identity crisis, aims to reveal how the novel makes visible the constantly reconstructed and performative structure of the post-colonial subject. Keywords: Postcolonialism, Mimicry, Hyrbidity, Ambivalance, Third Space Theory.