From Chinggisid to Modern State: Geopolitics and Sovereignty in Central Eurasia during the 17th and 18th Centuries

Abstract

The decline of the Mongol Empire and its successor states led to anarchy in Central Eurasia from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This era saw the fall of the Timurids and the Ming Dynasty and the rise of new regional powers, including the Kazakhs and Zunggars in Central Asia. Externally, the Manchus, and Russia began influencing Central Asian geopolitics. Meanwhile, significant political, cultural, and scientific developments were taking place in Europe, alongside the rise of colonialism. Although these trends in Europe began to affect Central Asia, the regional powers of the time focused more on European technological innovations than on ideas of sovereignty and statehood. With the acceleration of political and culturalinteractions between the East and the West, mapping and related innovations reached Central Asia and soon became symbols of political hegemony. This strategy, adopted by China’s Ming and Manchu Qing dynasties and Russia, was efficiently utilized in the struggle for dominance in Central Asia. This article examines the last attempts of the regional Kazakh and Zunggar polities as independent states to become the hegemon power in the region within the framework of the role of mapping in Russian and Manchu colonial advances, which has not been sufficiently studied yet. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this study employs historical methodologies, as well as international relations terminologies and theoretical frameworks.