The “Late” Modern States: Retrospective Analysis on the Demarcation of the Central Asian Hinterland “迟到”的现代国家:中亚内部划界问题追溯与分析

The evolution of land boundaries in Central Asia can be divided into stages for the ancient tribal borders, Tsarist colonial borders, Soviet administrative borders, and modern sovereign borders. The so-called “lateness ” means that compared to modern states (nation-states) in Europe in the 18th century, the sovereign role that “borders” play in Central Asia only started in the 1990s. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the territory of Central Asia was forced to break up, and the newly independent countries were faced with the problem of upgrading the identity of regional ethnic groups to the consciousness of nation-states. Land boundary conflicts were particularly prominent in the hinterland of Central Asia, and disputes among states in the Fergana Basin occurred frequently. Optimistically, the disputes over the border issues have not risen to the international level. The settlement of the boundary issue relies on the transition from the “Soviet Administrative Boundary” to the “Modern Sovereign Border” and the rational establishment of border management systems. At the end of the 20th century, the leaders of the five countries called for the creation of modern states. These countries have worked to explore the realistic path of demarcation negotiations and contractual demarcation, thereby yielding good results.