Abstract
<jats:p>The role of the homeland in diaspora and the preservation of identity is well dis cussed in theoretical approaches to diaspora. However, there are very few studies that address the issue of repatriation. In several countries that have diasporas, “repatriation” as a process is absent from the agenda of their governments because the diaspora is considered a strategic resource. The term came into circulation af ter the Second World War due to the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of people who, due to hostilities, had to leave their countries of former residence. This extended to prisoners of war, displaced persons, refugees, and expatriates trying to regain citizenship seven rights and return to their homeland. Definitions of repatriation in the international literature are mostly state-centric. One part of the researchers dealing with these issues defines it as the return of a person to his country of origin, supporting or calling for it; the other part attri butes the concept to labor migrants, whose first generation has clear ties to their homeland/state. In Armenian reality, repatriation is generally perceived as the “return” of ethnic Armenians to Armenia, and this process is considered the most acceptable and encouraged form of immigration.</jats:p>