Boundary Issues in Central Asia

This book provides detailed answers to: What was the legal framework within which the new states of Central Asia attained statehood? How did the administrative divisions of the former Soviet Union evolve, almost overnight, into inter-state frontiers, and on what legal basis? Are Central Asian states content with the post-independence border arrangements? What outstanding border issues with states adjacent to the former Soviet Central Asia were inherited by Central Asian states from the USSR, the predecessor state? What became, in particular, of the perennial border disputes of the predecessor state with China? What border issues with the latter have since been settled by Central Asian states and what issues are pending resolution? As well as to a host of other boundary-related questions, such as the minority, self-determination and ethno-border issues, with significant bearings on the stability of the existing territorial arrangements, the legal regimes for the use of trans-boundary watercourses in the region, including the dispute over the legal status of the Caspian Sea with its vast hydrocarbon resources. Truly unique in addressing issues in Central Asia for the first time through a primarily legal perspective, the book treats the trans-boundary questions in the region to an exhaustive survey of facts and offers assessments under the terms of the agreements between the sides, the relevant state practice, and norms and principles of international law. The book is of prime interest to the students and scholars of international relations, international law, and conflict and peace studies.