Continuity and Change in Group Identities

Abstract

The previous chapters have explored the background for why a policy such as the national delimitation was adopted. This and the following chapters investigate the developments that ensued after it had already been recognized that a political-administrative reorganization was to be accomplished. On the basis of the discussions in the first chapters, one might say that it was far from self-evident what Central Asia would look like if organized according to nationality. In this chapter, I examine the extent to which the newly-established entities corresponded to traditional patterns of identity, while in the following chapters I will explore the reasons for which the map of reorganized Central Asia came to look as it did. In Chapter 7, I discuss whether the delimitation was a dynamic process rather than the implementation of a ready-made plan, and, further, investigate whether the delimitation discussion itself triggered a development that decisively influenced the way in which the delimitation was accomplished. Chapter 8 presents an analysis of the border-making process of the delimitation.