Rural Transitions in Mongolia and Central Asia (forthcoming)
Pastoralism, Wellbeing and Economic Relations
Ariell Ahearn, Gantulga Munkherdene and Takahiro Ozaki (eds)
Focusing on pastoral and rural communities, this volume highlights ongoing transitions in rural Central Asia. Informed by in-depth case studies from Mongolia, Buryatia and Kyrgyzstan, the essays focus on themes in contemporary pastoralism, including the adaptation and resilience of rural pastoralist livelihoods during and after the Covid-19 pandemic; healing, food and wellbeing, including an examination of rural experiences of wellbeing and the re-invention and revival of traditional foods; and economic relations, including changing spatialisation of labour spurred by mineral extraction, the role of digital media and urban-rural dynamics. The volume presents insights into contemporary human geography and anthropology of the Inner Asian region; highlights the ongoing importance of scholarship on rural places; and offers a critical lens on broader processes of change affecting the region. A collaboration between scholars spanning Japan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, the UK and the USA, the volume showcases work by diverse authors with longstanding engagement in Inner Asia.
This book is Open Access through the support of UKRI.
THE EDITORS
Ariell Ahearn is a human geographer researching the spatial politics of development, environmental governance and mobile pastoralism. She is an academic activist, working closely with rural pastoralists and human rights NGOs in Mongolia to secure legal safeguards for herders facing forced eviction, destruction of cultural and spiritual sites and discrimination.
Gantulga Munkherdene is a Ph.D. candidate in Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. He is Executive Secretary of the Mongolian Anthropological Association. Prior to joining Oxford, he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia.
Takahiro Ozaki is a professor at Kagoshima University, Japan, specialising in anthropology and Inner Asian area studies, mainly using quantitative social research as a methodology. He carries out comparative study on changes in pastoral strategies in Outer and Inner Mongolian pastoral societies. His major work is a book on Pastoral Strategies in Modern Mongolia: Comparative Ethnography of Regime Transformation and Natural Disaster.
CONTENTS
Introduction: Post-Covid Transitions in Inner Asia
Ariell Ahearn and Gantulga MunkherdenePart I: Contemporary Pastoralism
Chapter 1.
On the Trucks and Trailers: Long-Distance Movement and Digital Transformations among Mobile Pastoralists in Post-Pandemic Mongolia
Gantulga MunkherdeneChapter 2.
Pastoral Society Resilience to Covid-19 Social Disaster in Mongolia’s Bulgan and Sukhbaatar Provinces
Takahiro OzakiChapter 3.
Change and Adaptation as a Way of Life: The Case of Qazaq Pastoralists in Western Mongolia
Peter FinkeChapter 4.
Women Herders’ Changing Role in Mongolian Pastoralism
Troy Sternberg, Bayartogtokh Tserennadmid and Tugsbuyan BayarbatPart II: Wellbeing and Traditional Foods and Medicine
Chapter 5.
Sealing the Energy: A Report on Food Practices for Nourishment in Western Mongolia
Moe TeraoChapter 6.
How Production of Airag (Fermented Mare’s Milk) is Changing in Mongolian Nomadic Pastoralism
Yuki Morinaga and Batbuyan BatjavChapter 7.
The Social Significance of Kazakh Chai Feasting in Mongolia
Chieko HirotaChapter 8.
Wild Botanicals of Inner Asia in the Times of a Global Health Crisis
Sayana NamsaraevaPart III Rural–Urban Dynamics: Networks, Perceptions and Economic Relations
Chapter 9.
Reconstruction of Pastoral Management and Local Milk Supply in Suburban Areas in Mongolia
Takahiro TomitaChapter 10.
Hybridity and Vitality of Culture: Mongolian Traditional Performing Arts During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic
Akira KamimuraChapter 11.
Between Khot (City) and Khuduu (Countryside): Negotiating Rural and Urban Identities in Post-Covid Mongolia
Daniel J. Murphy, Munkhochir Surenjav, Byambabaatar Ichinkhorloo and Bayartogtokh TserennadmidChapter 12.
Fragile Networks: The Illusion of the Stable Job in Post-pandemic Mongolia
Iris PakullaChapter 13.
The Role of Covid-19 in Kyrgyz Women’s Lives
Zalina EnikeevaChapter 14.
Conspiracy Theories and Public Discontent in Central Asia: The Role of Sinophobia in Mobilising Societal Frustrations
Kemel Toktomushev
15th February 2026
ISBN 978-1-912186-91-4 (PB) £30
eISBN 978-1-912186-92-1 (Open Access eBook)