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Asian Affairs

Volume 41, Issue 2, 2010

Special Issue:

THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING CENTRAL ASIA'S NEW BORDERS

THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING CENTRAL ASIA'S NEW BORDERS

DOI:
10.1080/03068371003747928
Richard Lewington*

pages 221-236

Available online: 03 Jun 2010

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Empire faced the newly-independent countries of Central Asia with the daunting and unexpected challenge of managing their own borders. These were both the so-called ‘internal borders’ between themselves and the ‘external borders’ with China, Iran, Afghanistan etc. As the internal borders had previously been purely administrative they cut through many linguistic, ethnic, cultural and geographical lines, not to mention the problems caused by a clutch of illogical enclaves. The border facilities inherited from the Soviet era were totally inadequate and the border guards ill-trained. Accordingly the EU launched two technical assistance programmes, BOMCA and CADAP, which are described in detail in the article.

 

Details

  • Available online: 03 Jun 2010

Author notes

  • Richard Lewington -

    Richard Lewington served as British Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, 1999–2002. From September 2007 to January 2009, he was based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as Chief Technical Adviser to the European Commission's Central Asian Border Management and Drugs Action Programmes (BOMCA &CADAP). He is a member of the Council of the Society.

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