A Comparative Phenomenological Study of Social Exclusion and Belonging among Young Minority Members in Greece and Turkey

This study presents a comparative phenomenological examination of social exclusion and belonging among young Western Thrace Turks in Greece and Istanbul Greeks in Turkey. Both communities were exempted from the 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange under the Treaty of Lausanne and continue to occupy historically rooted yet socially liminal positions within their respective nation-states. Using semi-structured interviews with eighteen young adults aged 18–25, alongside ethnographic engagement with community organizations and churches, the study explores how minority status is experienced in everyday life. Findings were organized into three domains: structural sources of exclusion, protective resources and risk factors, and psychosocial outcomes. Interpreted through the Temporal Need-Threat Model, the findings suggest that both communities experience vulnerabilities related to belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence, while protective communal resources simultaneously function as both support mechanisms and constraints on broader social integration.