| Summary/Abstract |
The resurgence of sovereign states in a highly globalized modern world calls
for new approaches to border studies. The present paper suggests looking
at political, sociocultural and economic borders as constructs of dynamic
boundaries influencing people’s interactions. Through an oral history of a
mixed Sino-Russian ethnic community, and a narrative review of smugglers
and shuttle traders, this study examines how the flux of the political border
between the Heilongjiang1 province and the Russian Far East (HLJ-RFE political border) changed the sociocultural and economic borders during
three periods: the 1910s-1920s, the 1960s-1970s, and the 2000s-2010s, when
the political border was characterized as being porous, hostile, and friendly,
respectively. The study shows that the HLJ-RFE political border had a strong
impact on limiting the sociocultural demarcation, but a much weaker effect on
facilitating sociocultural interactions and economic regulations. The results
of the study demonstrate how a strong and friendly political border may lose
its potency when utilized by the local government to facilitate interethnic
integration. Furthermore, the study warrants an interdisciplinary approach to
border studies and a region-oriented methodology.
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