Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 2017, 7(2), 5–8 INTRODUCTION Oleh Shabliy Chair of Economic and Social Geography, Faculty of Geography, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Doroshenka 41, 79000 Lviv, Ukraine, e-mail: mvlakhr@ ukr.net Citation Shabliy O., 2017, Introduction, Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 7(2), 5–8 Human and geographical issues of borderland terri- At first glance, it seems that everything is very tories (borderlands) are not new. They are derivative: simple. In fact, the question, first of all, needs argu- originally, the category of border appeared and in mented substantiation. In particular: connection with it – the notion of borderlands and a) borderlands are not an ordinary piece of territory borderland issues. adjacent to border and characterized by certain At the same time, these issues, in the context of features. Because the very characteristic of „be- specific international, national and regional chal- ing borderland” is the first essential feature of lenges, acquire new features and characteristics. territory. The point is that these features must be They need not only updated research methods, but suitable for typology of borderlands; also unconventional approaches and interpreta- b) it is important to take into account new factors of tions. In short, entire conceptual and terminological human geographical nature, which provide terri- apparatus of limology theory (science of borders, tory with „borderland sounds”. Thus, for example, borderlands, boundary lines and planes, etc.) re- from borders towards the center of a country, quires theoretical comprehension as well as similar covering a certain distance, „borderland infra- in subject matter scientific research disciplines - re- structure” is intensively formed, and this should gionalistics, country and area studies. be considered first; In recent decades, a number of terms, notions, c) „borderlands” as a space are becoming a factor concepts and categories related to the notion of bor- in settling in it of non-traditional enterprises and der entered scientific circulation and firmly rooted in. institutions, unprecedented human activities. It depends primarily on emergence of new geospa- Primarily, it concerns localization of recreational tial human realia such as globalization, international areas along borders, oriented to the needs of for- integration, formation of inter- and intra-state regions eign tourism. This is often associated with pres- („Euroregions”), joint entrepreneurship, cross-border ence on borderlands of certain (often unique) cooperation, etc. natural, and historical and cultural resources; These relatively new notions include „border- d) in traditionally interpreted borderlands, „growth lands”, „small border traffic”, „frontiers”, „borderzone” poles” are emerging now, once depressive small and others. Particularly important among them is and medium urban settlements are activating; the notion of „borderlands”. 6 Oleh Shabliy e) against the background of depression and re- a long time – Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks, Romani- cession of almost all regions of Ukraine, certain ans, Moldovans and others. Now their culture and borderlands are showing signs of social and eco- religion are in the process of revival. Just the same, nomic activation. Population in them is growing cultural and religious, social and public life of Ukrain- due to positive migration balance, emergence of ians across the border is gradually getting better. jobs in free and special economic zones, etc. In In scientific terms, delimitation of the West short, instead of dividing function, borders are Ukrainian borderlands becomes important. Exist- increasingly performing the integrational one. ing research suggests that the notion of the West An important role here is played by “Carpathian” Ukrainian borderlands have several meanings: re- and “Buh” Euroregions. gional, state political, historical and geographical, These and a number of other characteristics of mod- and ethnocultural. ern borderlands require paying to them more at- In regional meaning, the West Ukrainian border- tention not only by state, but also by planning and lands are a large region of Ukraine, which occupies design bodies, for example, Mistoproekt State Insti- its western part and is adjacent to its West, including tute of City Design, and scientists. All the more so, the South- and North-West, border. It has some spe- as all borderlands together with borders themselves cific features, including: have socio-economic and, above all, state political a) geographical location – direct border with four content. countries of the former „socialist camp”, close- Among different kinds and types of borderlands ness to developed countries of Europe, location of Ukraine, the West Ukrainian borderlands are spe- on international transport corridors and power cific. Its delimitation requires a separate substantia- systems, etc.); tion. It is primarily about defining of „width” (more b) high socio-economic and ethnic diversity. Along precisely – „depth”) of the borderlands in relation to with the relatively highly developed Lviv Oblast, the border itself. And also about „limits” of the bor- there are subregions with significantly below the derlands in relation to their neighbors – the South nationwide level (the Zakarpattia and Ternopil and North Ukrainian borderlands. Oblasts); The West Ukrainian borderlands include the ter- c) presence of a powerful consolidating territorial ritory of Ukraine, adjacent to the borders of Belarus, core – Lviv, which is an important industrial and Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. cultural center not only of the western region, That means that, by its definition, the West Ukrain- but of Ukraine as a whole or even of pan-Europe- ian borderlands have six sectors (according to the an scale; number of countries to which they come). In addi- d) specifics of mentality of the population, its na- tion, each of the sectors is characterized by historical tionwide „political ambitions” that, due to exter- and political, and ethnic specificity. mination of elite strata by occupation regimes Until recently, the western border had been not in the past, do not always correspond to the real so much a border of Ukraine as a state border of the possibilities. However, cultural potential of the USSR. The paradox was that Ukraine as a pseudo- region against the background of the state in state (republic) had no jurisdiction over this border general can be successfully used for national re- and its western region represented in the border- vival of Ukrainian people. lands not Ukraine itself, but a „superpower” – the State and political delimitation of the West Ukrainian USSR. Moreover, this western border, contrary to borderlands is that it is a „borderline” in the western the economic trend of integration of the so-called region, which is defined at several administrative socialist countries, was probably the greatest bar- and territorial levels: inter-oblast, inter-raion (the rier among all borders of the former USSR. It was lowest raions), inter-community. most closely guarded. Deeply echeloned „defense” The first level is inter-oblast. In this meaning, the of various law enforcement agencies throughout West Ukrainian borderlands are a set of six or even the western region of Ukraine had the task to carry seven oblasts adjacent to the state border (the out psychological pressure on the local population Rivne, Volyn, Lviv, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk and and prevent penetration to the republic of „harmful” Chernivtsi Oblasts, and the Khmelnytskyi Oblast (from the viewpoint of totalitarian regime) ideas and sometimes). So, this „borderline” shares borders thoughts. In fact, the entire western region was an with independent countries: southwestern Belarus, ideological border. southeastern Poland, eastern Slovakia, northeastern Although, the West Ukrainian borderlands are Hungary, northern Romania and Moldova. Figura- entirely Ukrainian territory, there representatives of tively speaking, there are the six countries per the neighboring nations had been massively living for six oblasts of Ukraine. Only the Zakarpattia Oblast in Introduction 7 a certain sense is „central” because it comes to the ical, and ecological and geographical security; borders of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. problems of geodemographical security are pri- The second level is inter-raion. The West Ukrain- marily connected with negative change of repro- ian borderlands include a „borderline”, composed ductive potential of the borderlands, particularly, of a set of the lowest administrative raions, directly intensive aging of population, increased external adjacent to the state border, starting with Rokytni- migration of local population and transit interna- anskyi Raion of the Rivne Oblast and ending with tional migration of population of Asian subcon- Sokyrianskyi Raion of the Chernivtsi Oblast. Al- tinent countries; ecological and geographical re- together there are 32 such raions: Rokytnianskyi, gional problems are based on: a) western transfer Dubrovytskyi, Zarichnianskyi (the Rivne Oblast), of polluted air masses from Central and Eastern Liubeshivskyi, Ratnivskyi, Shatskyi, Liubomylskyi, Europe; b) presence of a dense network of roads, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Novovolynskyi (the Volyn including automobile transport corridors of in- Oblast), Sokalskyi, Yavorivskyi, Mostyskyi, Zhovkivs- ternational importance. kyi, Staro-Sambirskyi, Turkivskyi (the Lviv Oblast), 3) Scientific