From Frontiers to Boundaries: How was the borderline drawn between British Burma and China (1886-1941)?

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03317
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: International relations
• Research Institution: Yamagata University (2016-2017); Kyoto University (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Imamura Masao 山形大学, 人文社会科学部, 准教授 (60748135)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: Borderland / Frontier / Zomia

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The project primarily used archival and secondary resources, while carrying out filed work in multiple countries including China, Myanmar, and India. I conducted an extensive inventory of the secondary literature including the most recent dissertations. In response to the advancements made by the recent studies, I have sought to (a) broadened the scope of inquiry, (b) analyze changes within the borderlands, especially in language and religion, and (c) present a conceptual model under which cases from Asia can be meaningfully compared. I arrived at a four-fold model of geopolitical order: zomia, mandala, empire, and nation-state. This four-fold model, I contend, can capture better the historical trajectories of borderlands in Asia.

Free Research Field

Human geography