Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the representations of Central Asia of Russian, Turkish and Chinese students. Using a mental maps method at world scale, it shows the spatial structure of the macro region and provides information on frames of reference used for regionalization, raising geopolitical issues.

Paper long abstract:

Central Asia refers to different entities, depending on the period and approach. The uncertainties about its geographical definition make the region particularly interesting to analyze from a geopolitical point of view. Social representations have a central place in geopolitical analysis, particularly in "low geopolitics" approaches which describe the representations of the "man in the street". Within this category we have chosen to interview a particular but legitimate population: undergraduate students. Furthermore, it is interesting to approach the issue of Central Asia from the point of view of the riparian countries with geopolitical stakes in the region: China, Russia and Turkey.

In order to analyze the representation of Central Asia of students from these countries, we use a methodology based on mental representations of world regions which introduce an element of interpretation of the world space: by tracing world regions, respondent brings together what is similar and separates what is different according to them. The analysis of the names given provides information on the frames of reference used for regionalisation. This survey was conducted in 2009-2010. The questionnaire included a world map on which students had to draw and name regions of the world. In Russia the survey was done in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Stavropol and Khabarovsk; 827 questionnaires were collected. The survey in China has been done in 5 cities: Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Wuhan and 1198 questionnaires can be used. In Turkey 734 questionnaires from students in Istanbul, Izmir and Erzurum have been gathered.

Two types of analyses are carried out. On the one hand, we analyze the extension and denomination of the regions that include the countries studied. In other words, in which regions do Russian, Chinese and Turkish students project themselves at global scale and does this region include Central Asia? On the other hand, we analyze in which region countries from Central Asia are included. Despite variations between the samples from different countries, our analysis shows that Russians, Turks and Chinese students have mainly a nationalistic vision of the world. This leads to the identification of a space of uncertainty in Central Asia, which is explained by its location on the borders of other regional spaces including Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It is one of the least determined spaces in the representations of the world, one of the most obvious areas of multiple belonging, when viewed from outside.