These essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of contemporary Mongolia, ranging from industrialization, environmental policies, biotechnology and husbandry to descriptions of Mongolian flora and fauna.

First published in 1991 Mongolia Today presents a collection of essays by leading scholars in the field and gives important insights into the economic, political, legal and military systems of Mongolia. The Mongolian People's Republic, formerly known as ‘Outer Mongolia’, is three times the size of France but has population of just two million. Sandwiched between Russia and China, this remote heartland of Asia has long been one of the most inaccessible places in the world, its isolation preserved by political as well as geographical barriers. The modern history of Mongolia has been dominated by its two great neighbours: strong economic and political ties with the erstwhile Soviet Union and problematic relations with China. Relations with the West have been slow to develop. Post-cold war, Mongolia is willing to explore new relationships with other parts of the world and transform this once isolated land into a trading partner of international potential. This is an essential read for scholars and researchers of Central Asian studies, Asian politics, and Chinese studies.

"Dr. D. Bumaa, 20th-century historian at the National Museum of Mongolian History, then presents the exciting history of Mongolia's century-long struggle to establish independence, first from Manchu Chinese feudal overlords and then from Soviety Communists.".

Land-locked between its giant neighbors, Russia and China, Mongolia was the first Asian country to adopt communism and the first to abandon it. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, Mongolia turned to international financial agencies—including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank—for help in compensating for the economic changes caused by disruptions in the communist world. Modern Mongolia is the best-informed and most thorough account to date of the political economy of Mongolia during the past decade. In it, Morris Rossabi explores the effects of the withdrawal of Soviet assistance, the role of international financial agencies in supporting a pure market economy, and the ways that new policies have led to greater political freedom but also to unemployment, poverty, increasingly inequitable distribution of income, and deterioration in the education, health, and well-being of Mongolian society. Rossabi demonstrates that the agencies providing grants and loans insisted on Mongolia's adherence to a set of policies that did not generally take into account the country's unique heritage and society. Though the sale of state assets, minimalist government, liberalization of trade and prices, a balanced budget, and austerity were supposed to yield marked economic growth, Mongolia—the world's fifth-largest per capita recipient of foreign aid—did not recover as expected. As he details this painful transition from a collective to a capitalist economy, Rossabi also analyzes the cultural effects of the sudden opening of Mongolia to democracy. He looks at the broader implications of Mongolia's international situation and considers its future, particularly in relation to China.

Provides an all-encompassing look at the history of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia Beginning with the breakup of the Mongol Empire in the mid-thirteenth century, Volume II of this comprehensive work covers the remarkable history of “Inner Eurasia,” from 1260 up to modern times, completing the story begun in Volume I. Volume II describes how agriculture spread through Inner Eurasia, providing the foundations for new agricultural states, including the Russian Empire. It focuses on the idea of “mobilization”—the distinctive ways in which elite groups mobilized resources from their populations, and how those methods were shaped by the region’s distinctive ecology, which differed greatly from that of “Outer Eurasia,” the southern half of Eurasia and the part of Eurasia most studied by historians. This work also examines how fossil fuels created a bonanza of energy that helped shape the history of the Communist world during much of the twentieth century. Filled with figures, maps, and tables to help give readers a fuller understanding of what has transpired over 750 years in this distinctive world region, A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia: Volume II: Inner Eurasia from the Mongol Empire to Today, 1260-2000 is a magisterial but accessible account of this area’s past, that will offer readers new insights into the history of an often misunderstood part of the world. Situates the histories of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia within the larger narrative of world history Concentrates on the idea of Inner Eurasia as a coherent ecological and geographical zone Focuses on the powerful ways in which the region’s geography shaped its history Places great emphasis on how “mobilization” played a major part in the development of the regions Offers a distinctive interpretation of modernity that highlights the importance of fossil fuels Offers new ways of understanding the Soviet era A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia: Volume II is an ideal book for general audiences and for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in world history. The Blackwell History of the World Series The goal of this ambitious series is to provide an accessible source of knowledge about the entire human past, for every curious person in every part of the world. It will comprise some two dozen volumes, of which some provide synoptic views of the history of particular regions while others consider the world as a whole during a particular period of time. The volumes are narrative in form, giving balanced attention to social and cultural history (in the broadest sense) as well as to institutional development and political change. Each provides a systematic account of a very large subject, but they are also both imaginative and interpretative. The Series is intended to be accessible to the widest possible readership, and the accessibility of its volumes is matched by the style of presentation and production.

The Gobi Desert, cold mountainous regions, and harsh climate of Mongolia leave it with one of the lowest population densities in the world. Nonetheless, Mongolians are proud of their long heritage, and carry even today their customs of the past. In this all-inclusive study of contemporary Mongolian life, readers will learn about nomadic lifestyles still practiced today. Other topics covered include Buddhism and other religions, literature, arts, cuisine, dress, family life, festivals and leisure activities, social customs, and lifestyle. May also includes an overview of Chinggis Khan, the father of the Mongol Empire, and his legacy in Mongolian culture today. Ideal for high school and undergraduate students, this volume is an essential addition to library shelves.

Until the collapse of the socialist system in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolian social sciences was fundamentally schematised in accordance with the prevailing political ideology of socialism, considering the country's history in the theoretical framework of historical materialism, the theory of socio-economic formation, and the feudalism model. Here, however, the author adopts a fresh approach and criticises the theoretical adaptation of the feudalism concept to nomadic culture while treating the history of Mongolia in view of the structural and developmental particularities of nomadic society. The book shows the economic conditions and everyday life of mobile livestock keeping, tribal and political-administrative organisation and the social strata of nomadic society during the 13th-19th centuries, demonstrating that development of nomadic societies in Central Asia cannot and should not be evaluated in accordance with European norms.

This work explores the history and lifestyle of a society that has long fascinated the Western world. It offers a study of various political, economic, social, and cultural changes Mongolians have endured over the past 800 years. A resource for both student and general readers.

A Thousand Steps to Parliament traces how the complicated, contradictory paths to political representation that women in Mongolia must walk mirror those the world over. Mongolia has often been deemed an "island of democracy," commended for its rapid adoption of free democratic elections in the wake of totalitarian socialism. The democratizing era, however, brought alongside it a phenomenon that Manduhai Buyandelger terms "electionization"--a restructuring of elections from time-grounded events into a continuous, neoliberal force that governs everyday life beyond the electoral period. In A Thousand Steps to Parliament, she shows how campaigns in Mongolia have come to substitute for the functions of governing, from social welfare to the private sector. Such long-term, high-investment campaigns depend on an accumulation of wealth and power beyond the reach of most women candidates. Given their limited financial means and outsider status, successful women candidates instead use strategies of self-polishing to cultivate charisma and a reputation for being oyunlag, or intellectful. This carefully and intentionally crafted identity can be called the "electable self" treating their bodies and minds as pliable and renewable, women candidates draw from the same practices of neoliberalism that have unsustainably commercialized elections. A Thousand Steps to Parliament traces how the complicated, contradictory paths to representation that women in Mongolia must walk mirror those the world over, revealing an urgent need to grapple with the encroaching effects of neoliberalism in democracies globally.

French photographer Frédéric Lagrange began taking pictures of Mongolia in 2001. Since then, he has taken 12 trips to the country over the course of 15 years, visiting in all 4 seasons and traveling through the nation's vastly different regions. Frédéric Lagrange: Mongolia is the result: a visual portrait of Mongolia and its people, captured in stunning focus. Designed in an oversized format to maximize the impact of the smallest detail--from the warp and weft of a colorful textile or the flushed cheeks of a baby to the sandy dunes of a desert.