SOCIO-GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO SUBSTANTIATING ECONOMIC SECURITY BOUNDARIES OF A BORDER REGION

Abstract

Dramatic geopolitical and geo-economic changes occurring since 2022 have created a new development context for Russian border regions redrawing their economic security boundaries. The latter are also changing, which is understood as the required level of security in the current mode of functioning of the territorial system in terms of its openness or closeness. These regions, especially ones located along the northwestern borders, geo-strategically gain more military and political importance for Russia’s national security. Thus, changing boundaries of the border regions’ economic security require theoretical understanding and development of measures to ensure it. A socio-geographical approach to addressing this issue allows factoring in the regions’ spatial characteristics, in particular, the influence of the border factor. Highlighting the specific functions of border regions that distinguish them from the internal territories of the country, the paper presents a hierarchy of economic security factors. In terms of their content, we consider groups of general and specific factors, while in terms of the character of their impact — constructive (potential-forming) or destructive (potential-destructive). The study shows that the economic security boundaries for a particular territory are determined by the ratio of various groups of factors in establishing the operating regime of the region in terms of its openness or closedness as a territorial system. We use the example of the exclave Kaliningrad region to identify the leading border functions, analyze changes in the economic security boundaries and propose key action areas for ensuring it.