国家构建视域下的边疆地区政治整合

Political Integration in Frontier Areas from the Perspective of State-Building

国家构建是现代国家走上现代化、民主化发展的必由之路,边疆的客观存在与具体状态的呈现能够在某种程度上影响国家构建的效果。为了将边疆地区更好地纳入国家管理的序列当中,使其形成最为基本的国家认同,达成基础的政治共识,需要运用政治整合的手段来进行推动与转化。这种政治整合行为需要权威的政府或政党进行主导,并且通过合理有效的路径达成政治整合的目标。边疆对于现代绝大多数国家都有着重要的意义,于内部而言,它是国家稳定与安全的节拍器,是现代化建设进程中的重要组成部分;于外部而言,它是国际间交往的门户,是区域安全与发展的桥头堡。在国家构建的整体视域下,通过合理的路径针对边疆地区进行政治整合是强化政治共同体意识的需要,是维护边疆稳定乃至区域安全的需要,是促进边疆发展乃至国家现代化的需要。通过特定的政治权威来推动对“异质性”较强的边疆地区的整合,从而形成基本的国家认同,达成基础的政治共识,接受有序的政治安排。这就要求政治主体克服边疆地区固有的社会文化与民族心理之“分化”趋向,现实距离与情感距离之“疏远”态势,达成资源禀赋与多元一体之“整合”目标。

This paper defines state-building as a path to modernization and democratization of a modern state. Based on this,its purpose is to analyze the important role of political integration in frontier regions in the process of state-building and shows that state-building and political integration usually go hand in hand in the process of nation modernization.Since the establishment of the Westphalian system,history teaches,the nation-state has gradually emerged,and national borders have gained a basis in international law. Frontiers have thus become an integral part of the modern state that cannot be ignored,accompanying the process of origin,survival,development, and evolution of the state.The political,economic,ethnic,security,and sociocultural conditions of frontier regions are crucial to the stability and development of a country,and political integration of frontier regions not only integrates frontier resources, strengthens national identity,and regulates frontier governance,but also accelerates the process of state modernization,arguably promoting a sound functioning of the political system in the context of state-building.This study further suggests that the basic problem of political integration is to eliminate“narrow loyalties” of certain subgroups and instead forming a pluralistic-integrated national loyalty.Findings indicate this requires the establishment of a set of rules based on national identity and regional control that can deal with public conflicts,relations between the ruler and the ruled,and the organization of the population for common purposes.Moreover,political integration looks to effectively contribute to the stability of political communities and is a powerful tool in the process of state-building. An important aspect of modern state-building is the integration of social,political,cultural,and economic factors in the border areas into the state through rational political integration.Results moreover show that a series of political integration measures are needed to better integrate the frontier areas into the sequence of state management: First,territorial integration is the prerequisite for all political integration measures,and border areas could only implement their integration measures with the authority of the central government. Secondly,ethnic integration can dispel the inherent notion of local nationalism and therefore strengthens the national identity. Furthermore,political party integration can provide a window for expressions of social and ethnic identity. Finally,an effective administrative system could form close cooperation with the frontier regions while simultaneously reflecting the will of the state.The article recognizes the important role of political integration in frontier regions in the process of state-building and based on clarifying the position of frontiers in state-building,it discerns the relationship between political integration and state-building and thus argues that in the process of nation modernization, state-building, and political integration usually go hand in hand. In this way,we try to propose a reasonable path for political integration in borderlands. Political integration in border areas is an important tool for realizing an overall national security concept and giving an effective guarantee for forging a firm sense of Chinese national community.