Time and Contingency in the Anthropology of Borders: On Border as Event in Rural Central Asia

Abstract

This book examines changing and emerging state and state-like borders in the post-Soviet space in the decades following state collapse. This book argues border-making is not only about states' physical marking of territory and claims to sovereignty but also about people's spatial practices over time. In order to illustrate how borders come about and are maintained, this book looks at border communities at internal, open administrative borders and borders in the making, as well as physically demarcated international state borders. This book also pays attention to both the spatial and temporal aspects of borders and the interplay between boundaries and borders over time and thus identifies some of the processes at play as space is territorialized in Eurasia in the aftermath of state collapse. Acknowledgments; Contents; List of Contributors; List of Figures; Chapter 1: Introduction: Eurasian Borderlands; Introduction: Eurasian Borderlands; Borderlands; Borders and€Boundaries; Eurasia; Soviet Borders; Soviet Territorial Anatomy and€the€Legacy of€Nationality Policy; Border Conflicts and€War; Chapter Summaries and€Common Themes; Conclusive Remarks: Common Themes and€Analytical Perspectives; Border Materiality, Infrastructure and€Events; Mobility and€Territoriality; Notes; References. Chapter 2: Post-Soviet or Eurasian Lands? Rethinking Analytic Categories in€the€Ukraine-EU and€Russia-China BorderlandsIntroduction; The Margins of€Empire; Post-Soviet as€a€Category of€Analysis; Post-Soviet Sociality; Eurasia as€a€Category of€Analysis; Eurasia as€a€Geopolitical Domain; Eurasia as€a€Discursive Field; Eurasia as€a€Space of€Bio-Political Control; Conclusion; Notes; References; Chapter 3: "Dead End": A€Spatial History of€a€Border Town in€Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan; Introduction; Karakol as€a€Borderland Town; Spatial Histories: Temporality and€Connection. From Pre-Soviet to€Post-Soviet: Karakol-Przhevalsk-Karakol"The Township at the€Chinese Border"; Geography: "Our Mountains and€Lake"; "Planes Don't Fly to€Us, Trains Don't Come, Buses Seldom & "; Ashlamfu or Cultural Diversity as€a€Brand; Conclusion: Border Images, Protection, Limitation, and€Nostalgia; Notes; References; Chapter 4: With a€Border Fence in€the€Backyard: Materialization of€the€Border in€the€Landscape and€the€Social Lives' of€Border People; Introduction; Kyrgyz/Uzbek Border; Borderline and€Its Materiality; Border Infrastructure and€Border Landscape. Materiality of€Border in€the€Everyday Life Conclusion; Notes; References; Chapter 5: Across the€Enguri Border: Lives Connected and€Separated by the€Borderland Between Georgia and€Abkhazia; Introduction; Zone of€Contention along the€Enguri River; Lives and€Livelihoods in€the€Enguri Borderland; Politics and€Emotions of€Connection and€Separation; Projecting Institutions Across Borders; Conclusion; Note; References; Chapter 6: Remembering and€Living on€the€Borderlands in€the€South Caucasus; Introduction; Re-thinking the€Anthropology of€Borders. History of€the€Border and€Border Practices in€the€South Caucasus in€Narratives and€Social MemoryPost-Soviet Borders in€the€South Caucasus; Concluding Remarks; Notes; References; Chapter 7: Time and€Contingency in€the€Anthropology of€Borders: On€Border as€Event in€Rural Central Asia; Introduction; Undoing the€Line; Time and€the€Border; Introducing Ak-Sai; Living 'at the€Edge'; Bypassing Vorukh; Conclusion; Bibliography; Chapter 8: Producing Territories: Spatial Practices and€Border Effects Between Krasnodar Krai and€the€Republic of€Adygea; Multiple Boundaries and€Spatial Transformation.