Divided we fall … or rise? Tajikistan–Kyrgyzstan border dilemma. (13th February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Matveeva, Anna
• Other Names: Faizullaev Alisher reviewer.; Bader Max reviewer.
• Is Part Of: Cambridge journal of Eurasian studies. Volume 1(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 20
• Publication Date: 2017-02-13
• Subjects: security -- space -- borders -- ethnic conflict -- Kyrgyzstan -- Tajikistan; Eurasia -- Periodicals; 950
• DOI: 10.22261/94D4RC
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2514-4634

Abstract

Abstract: The Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border remains one of the last undefined frontiers in the Commonwealth of Independent States, where the governments are reluctant to act against the wishes of their border communities and force delimitation solutions that may cause social protests. Uncertainty of territorial arrangements persists; however, the era of commonality and interdependence may be at its end due to the establishment of a border as a means of spatial control. Border drawing reflects the divergent development trajectories of the new states, seeking to break out of an interdependence pattern. Borderlands' interactions become more conflictual. Generation change and a loss of common language work to widen the inter-communal gap. Ethnicity and identity factors grew in significance as association with the nation-states increased, and a border expresses a symbol of nationhood in this paradigm. Crucially, a border justifies a security regime, reinforced by international assistance policies, to project power over the territory. Actions of security structures cause grievances but also signify a protective arm of the state, a role that the border communities appreciate, themselves acting as a collective border guard and projecting their fears of encroachment onto the borders. The expansion of the Eurasian Economic Union became a new factor that could have served to alleviate the pressure to divide territory and assets, but this could work only if two countries joined it at the same period. With this option unavailable, a territorial impasse has been reached.