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https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.46.2021.3.178-207
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"De-Facto Borders" as a Mirror of Sovereignty: The Case of the Post-Soviet Non-Recognized States
De-Facto-Grenzen' als ein Spiegel der Souveränität: Der Fall der postsowjetischen nicht-anerkannten Staaten
[journal article]
Abstract
The crisis of statehood in many countries has resulted in the emergence of non-recognized states that have become an intrinsic feature of the world geopolitical order. Using the concept of bordering, we study a specific type of border that was shaped in the course of state-building processes and con... view more
The crisis of statehood in many countries has resulted in the emergence of non-recognized states that have become an intrinsic feature of the world geopolitical order. Using the concept of bordering, we study a specific type of border that was shaped in the course of state-building processes and conflicts with parent states. Some "de-facto borders" are not stable; in addition, non-recognized states often do not control all their declared territory. Looking in detail at the situation in six non-recognized republics in the post-Soviet space, we show the asymmetry of their borders with the parent state and with the external patron. Comparing the basic socio-economic indicators by regions, we conclude that non-recognized states still lag far behind both their parent and their patron state. Citizens of non-recognized republics regularly visit border areas of the patron and parent states and spend a considerable part of their income there. This can contribute to the normalization of relations between adversaries, but at the same time can perpetuate the separation between them. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the barrier functions of the borders with parent states.... view less
Keywords
state formation; region; international recognition; Georgia; Caucasus region; Russia; Ukraine; Armenia; geopolitics; dependence; national territory; political stability; border region; USSR successor state; sovereignty; Azerbaijan
Classification
Political System, Constitution, Government
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Free Keywords
Post-Soviet de facto states; border regime; cross-border economic discontinuities; international border; cross-border interactions; pandemic; De-Facto borders; Post-Soviet Non-Recognized States; Transnistria; Abkhazia; South Ossetia; Nagorno-Karabakh; Donetsk People's Republic; Luhansk People's Republic
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 178-207
Journal
Historical Social Research, 46 (2021) 3
Issue topic
Borders as Places of Control: Fixing, Shifting, and Reinventing State Borders
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed