Demographic and sociocultural challenges to cross-border cooperation on the Russian-Kazakhstan border

Abstract

Integration aspirations of Kazakhstan and Russia seem to many experts to be a solid basis for the development of cooperation in the common border area. However, recent research has convincingly proved that political and economic integration do not automatically bring border regions closer together and develop institutions of cooperation between them. Under these conditions, participants in cross-border interactions are forced to rely on the still preserved elements of the common Soviet heritage — economic ties between large enterprises and especially a common culture and values. The purpose of the work is to analyze the nature of the influence of demographic and sociocultural trends of recent decades on cross-border cooperation between Russian and Kazakh regions. This study shows that the common sociocultural space of the border area, on the one hand, undoubtedly creates the potential for integration and cross-border cooperation, on the other hand, it inevitably becomes a matter of concern for states seeking to legitimize their rights to border areas through a special linguistic, historical, cultural and symbolic policy aimed at uniting ethnically and culturally diverse populations in political nations. The policy of “Kazakhization”, the demographic policy of the Russian and Kazakh authorities, as well as the natural course of demographic processes contributes to the erosion of the common sociocultural space of the border area. The analysis of expert interviews showed that the basis of “unorganized,1” “spontaneous” cooperation of the population is still cross-border trade, as well as mutual trips with consumer and tourist purposes. The main beneficiaries of such contacts are the Russian regional centers, especially the millionaire cities, where study and further life are considered as a desirable life trajectory for many young Kazakhstanis and, above all, ethnic Russians. By attracting more and more migrants, the largest Russian cities contribute to further polarization and erosion of the socio-cultural space of the border area, which can significantly reduce the potential for cooperation in the long term.