Inner Asia as the Periphery of Two Empires, or the Paradoxes of the Political Imagination

This article studies the dynamics of geopolitical imagination of Inner Asian borders. This concept originated in the 19th century as a synonym for Central Asia. However, the new international order and the cold War in mid-20th century changed its meaning. The article is an attempt to analyze changes of Inner Asian borders in the Oriental discourse over the past 70 years. The article contemplates key definitions of the region that appeared in 20th century in response to changes in the political situation. Information on the main research institutes studying this territory has been systematized. The focus was not only on the very borders of the region yet also on regional ascriptive political attributes. The study has revealed the special role of the cultural and civilizational factor in the formation of the geopolitical imagination and, accordingly, ideas on the region. As a result, optimal consistent criteria were identified. We propose our own logical definition of Inner Asia based on these criteria. This frontier region comprises Mongolia, the Chinese regions: the Inner Mongolia, the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the territory of Dongbei (historical Manchuria), as well as the Russian regions: the Republic of Altai, the Republic of Buryatia, the territory of the Buryat Ust-Ordynsky District within the Irkutsk Region, the Zabaykalsky Krai and the Republic of Tyva. This approach to understanding Inner Asia makes it a large-scale frontier space, where many economic and cultural exchanges between Russia, Mongolia and China take place.