Orographic Barrier Functions of Political Borders of Eurasia

The orographic barrier functions of political borders of Eurasia is analyzed using the geoinformation approach. A review of the evolution of concepts of natural borders from ancient times to the present day is presented. A classification of the barrier functions of political borders has been carried out, including natural, infrastructural, institutional, demographic, ethnocultural, and historical types. The research proposes a method for assessing the orographic barrier functions of borders using the geoinformation approach through elevation differences in the zone 2 km from the border, which is calculated using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation models. This article shows significant differences in the conditions of political borders in Eurasia and reveals new patterns between the barrier functions and conflict and integration types of borders, such as a high level of barrier functions of borders in Southeast Asia, a fairly high level of barrier functions of borders on the Korean and Arabian peninsulas, a low level of barrier functions in Eastern Europe and on the Indo-Pakistan border, etc. Using statistical analysis methods, it has been revealed that conflict borders in Eurasia paradoxically more often follow orographic barriers, in contrast to integration borders, exhibiting less naturalness; this, on the contrary, is a refutation of the original theory of natural boundaries. The results of the work can be useful for assessing the influence of geographical entities and for understanding the influence of geographical conditions on the formation and functioning of political borders. The neighborhood matrix that has been developed can serve as an alternative method for calculating the neighborhood weight (wij) in Moran’s spatial autocorrelation index (Moran’s I).