External Support And Local Agency: Uncertain Transformations Of Livelihoods In The Pamirian Borderland Of Tajikistan

Russian and Soviet (geo-) political interests rendered the Pamirs as a borderland place. This persisting functional perspective framed the people's experiences and development agency towards the region. This chapter exemplifies how realities of the Soviet economic system's breakdown, persisting border institutions, as well as external humanitarian relief and development projects influenced individual decisions of people during the transition period. It argues that persisting local narratives about a region dependent on external support combined with uncertainty about economic frame conditions shape peoples' decisions about coping and adaptation strategies and constrain their livelihood trajectories.