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The emergence of states in the Central Asian region, in the course of the last century, entailed both a reconfiguration of political space and a reforging of collective identities within the borders of the states. As the fuzzy limits of frontiers were transformed to more rigidly determined borders, identities were transformed. In most cases, however, the extent of this transformation was limited by cultural and socio-economic factors that ultimately determined the final form that identities assumed. This is a study of the transformation of identity in course of the transition from frontiers into borders and the problems that remain inherent in the process. It attempts to do so by examining this transformation in a region that today constitutes modern day Uzbekistan and Tajakistan. The study concludes by noting that the transformation of identities that accompanies the change from frontiers into borders is a continuous process. As newer lines emerge, demarcating political units, identities also face transition.