Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands

by Hedwig Amelia Waters
Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands
Author: Hedwig Amelia Waters
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2023-06-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787358135
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Since the early 1990s, Mongolia began its hopeful transition from socialism to a market democracy, becoming increasingly dependent on international mining revenue. Both shifts were promised to herald a new age of economic plenty for all. Now, roughly 30 years on, many of Mongolia’s poor and rural feel that they have been forgotten. Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands describes these shifts from the viewpoint of the self-proclaimed ‘excluded’: the rural township of Magtaal on the Chinese border. In the wake of socialism, the population of this resource-rich area found itself without employment and state institutions, yet surrounded by lush nature 30 kilometres from the voracious Chinese market. A two-tiered resource-extractive political-economic system developed. Whilst large-scale, formal, legally sanctioned conglomerates arrived to extract oil and land for international profits, the local residents grew increasingly dependent on the Chinese-funded informal, illegal cross-border wildlife trade. More than a story about rampant capitalist extraction in the resource frontier, this book intimately details the complex inner worlds, moral ambiguities and emergent collective politics constructed by individuals who feel caught in political-economic shifts largely outside of their control. Offering much needed nuance to commonplace descriptions of Mongolia’s post-socialist transition, this study presents rich ethnographic detail through the eyes and voices of the state’s most geographically marginalized. It is of interest not only to experts of political-economy and post-socialist transition, but also to non-academic readers intrigued by the interplay of value(s) and capitalism.

Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands

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Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands
Author:
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Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre:
ISBN: 9781787358164
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Since the early 1990s, Mongolia began its hopeful transition from socialism to a market democracy, becoming increasingly dependent on international mining revenue. Both shifts were promised to herald a new age of economic plenty for all. Now, roughly 30 years on, many of Mongolia's poor and rural feel that they have been forgotten. Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands describes these shifts from the viewpoint of the self-proclaimed 'excluded': the rural township of Magtaal on the Chinese border. In the wake of socialism, the population of this resource-rich area found itself without employment and state institutions, yet surrounded by lush nature 30 kilometres from the voracious Chinese market. A two-tiered resource-extractive political-economic system developed. Whilst large-scale, formal, legally sanctioned conglomerates arrived to extract oil and land for international profits, the local residents grew increasingly dependent on the Chinese-funded informal, illegal cross-border wildlife trade. More than a story about rampant capitalist extraction in the resource frontier, this book intimately details the complex inner worlds, moral ambiguities and emergent collective politics constructed by individuals who feel caught in political-economic shifts largely outside of their control. Offering much needed nuance to commonplace descriptions of Mongolia's post-socialist transition, this study presents rich ethnographic detail through the eyes and voices of the state's most geographically marginalized. It is of interest not only to experts of political-economy and post-socialist transition, but also to non-academic readers intrigued by the interplay of value(s) and capitalism.

Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia

by Rebecca M. Empson
Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia
Author: Rebecca M. Empson
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2020-06-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787351467
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Almost 10 years ago the mineral-rich country of Mongolia experienced very rapid economic growth, fuelled by China’s need for coal and copper. New subjects, buildings, and businesses flourished, and future dreams were imagined and hoped for. This period of growth is, however, now over. Mongolia is instead facing high levels of public and private debt, conflicts over land and sovereignty, and a changed political climate that threatens its fragile democratic institutions. Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia details this complex story through the intimate lives of five women. Building on long-term friendships, which span over 20 years, Rebecca documents their personal journeys in an ever-shifting landscape. She reveals how these women use experiences of living a ‘life in the gap’ to survive the hard reality between desired outcomes and their actual daily lives. In doing so, she offers a completely different picture from that presented by economists and statisticians of what it is like to live in this fluctuating extractive economy.

Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan

by Elena Borisova
Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan
Author: Elena Borisova
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2024-05-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1800086644
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Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan is the first ethnographic monograph on migration in Tajikistan, one of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world. Moving beyond economistic push-pull narratives about post-Soviet migration, it foregrounds the experiences of those who ‘stay put’ in the sending society and struggle to reproduce their moral communities. Elena Borisova examines the role of mobility in historical and cultural ideas about the good life and how it becomes entwined with people’s efforts to become good, moral and modern subjects. Addressing the complex relationship between the economic, imaginative and moral aspects of (im)mobility, she shows that mass migration from Tajikistan is as much a project of navigating ethical personhood as it is a quest for economic resources. This book reveals how transnational regimes and structures of mobility, citizenship and histories map out in the intimate spheres of the body, the person and the family. It is a contribution to contemporary migration research, which is mostly centred on Europe and North America, and to the field of Central Asian studies. It will be of interest to researchers of migration, (im)mobility and citizenship, and to scholars of all disciplines working on Central Asia. Praise for Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan ‘In this vivid and poignant ethnography, grounded in an intimate portrait of life in northern Tajikistan, Borisova shows how migration is much more than a response to economic necessity...Taking us from homes and wedding halls to passport offices and border posts, Borisova illuminates migration as an ethical project inseparable from the search for a good life – an argument of profound relevance for scholars of migration, as well as for students of anthropology.’ Madeleine Reeves, University of Oxford ‘This deeply researched account of the lived experience of migration between Tajikistan and Russia is a must-read for all those interested in Central Asia and the migratory experience more generally. This remarkable book is a testament to anthropology’s relevance for understanding some of the most pressing issues and sensitive world regions of the present era.’ Magnus Marsden, University of Sussex ‘Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan is a masterful account of migrants’ mobility between Tajikistan and Russia. Carefully examining how people live their lives on the move under difficult conditions, Borisova’s lucidly written book is set to become a landmark study in the anthropology of migration.’ Till Mostowlansky, Geneva Graduate Institute 'An amazing book. Borisova offers a rich fieldwork-based account of life in the North of Tajikistan, which is also a delightful read. This work requires a substantial rethinking about how we conceptualise and think of mobility and migration. Paying attention to the politics of care and ethical struggles the book helps a reader to understand what migration is and how it is weaved into everyday fabric of life in Tajikistan.' Malika Bahovadinova, University of Amsterdam

Shaping Urban Futures in Mongolia

by RebekaRebekah Plueckhahn
Shaping Urban Futures in Mongolia
Author: RebekaRebekah Plueckhahn
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2020-03-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787351521
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What can the generative processes of dynamic ownership reveal about how the urban is experienced, understood and made in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia? Shaping Urban Futures in Mongolia provides an ethnography of actions, strategies and techniques that form part of how residents precede and underwrite the owning of real estate property – including apartments and land – in a rapidly changing city. In doing so, it charts the types of visions of the future and perceptions of the urban form that are emerging within Ulaanbaatar following a period of investment, urban growth and subsequent economic fluctuation in Mongolia’s extractive economy since the late 2000s. Following the way that people discuss the ethics of urban change, emerging urban political subjectivities and the seeking of ‘quality’, Plueckhahn explores how conceptualisations of growth, multiplication, and the portioning of wholes influence residents’ interactions with Ulaanbaatar’s urban landscape. Shaping Urban Futures in Mongolia combines a study of changing postsocialist forms of ownership with a study of the lived experience of recent investment-fuelled urban growth within the Asia region. Examining ownership in Mongolia’s capital reveals how residents attempt to understand and make visible the hidden intricacies of this changing landscape.

The State, Popular Mobilisation and Gold Mining in Mongolia

by Dulam Bumochir
The State, Popular Mobilisation and Gold Mining in Mongolia
Author: Dulam Bumochir
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787351831
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Mongolia’s mining sector, along with its environmental and social costs, have been the subject of prolonged and heated debate. This debate has often cast the country as either a victim of the ‘resource curse’ or guilty of ‘resource nationalism’. In The State, Popular Mobilisation and Gold Mining in Mongolia, Dulam Bumochir aims to avoid the pitfalls of this debate by adopting an alternative theoretical approach. He focuses on the indigenous representations of nature, environment, economy, state and sovereignty that have triggered nationalist and statist responses to the mining boom. In doing so, he explores the ways in which these responses have shaped the apparently ‘neo-liberal’ policies of twenty-first century Mongolia, and the economy that has emerged from them, in the face of competing mining companies, protest movements, international donor organizations, economic downturn, and local and central government policies.

Consumer Data Research

by Paul Longley
Consumer Data Research
Author: Paul Longley
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2018-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787353885
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Big Data collected by customer-facing organisations – such as smartphone logs, store loyalty card transactions, smart travel tickets, social media posts, or smart energy meter readings – account for most of the data collected about citizens today. As a result, they are transforming the practice of social science. Consumer Big Data are distinct from conventional social science data not only in their volume, variety and velocity, but also in terms of their provenance and fitness for ever more research purposes. The contributors to this book, all from the Consumer Data Research Centre, provide a first consolidated statement of the enormous potential of consumer data research in the academic, commercial and government sectors – and a timely appraisal of the ways in which consumer data challenge scientific orthodoxies. Praise for Consumer Data Research 'An insightful, state-of-the-art guide into the social and commercial value of applying geographical thinking to the study of consumer data.' Professor Richard Harris, University of Bristol 'An excellent guide to leveraging the value of academic research on valid data. Partnerships based around consumer data should be encouraged and supported by all and their outputs used to better the way we manage the world we live in.' Bill Grimsey, retailer and author of The Vanishing Highstreet 'The use of data from everyday consumer transactions is a potential game-changer for understanding economic and social patterns and trends. This is an excellent overview of the field.' Dr.Tom Smith, Managing Director, Office for National Statistics Data Science Campus

Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans

by Thomas Chambers
Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans
Author: Thomas Chambers
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787354539
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Networks, Labour and Migration among Indian Muslim Artisans provides an ethnography of life, work and migration in a North Indian Muslim-dominated woodworking industry. It traces artisanal connections within the local context, during migration within India, and to the Gulf, examining how woodworkers utilise local and transnational networks, based on identity, religiosity, and affective circulations, to access resources, support and forms of mutuality. However, the book also illustrates how liberalisation, intensifying forms of marginalisation and incorporation into global production networks have led to spatial pressures, fragmentation of artisanal labour, and forms of enclavement that persist despite geographical mobility and connectedness. By working across the dialectic of marginality and connectedness, Thomas Chambers thinks through these complexities and dualities by providing an ethnographic account that shares everyday life with artisans and others in the industry. Descriptive detail is intersected with spatial scales of ‘local’, ‘national’ and ‘international’, with the demands of supply chains and labour markets within India and abroad, with structural conditions, and with forms of change and continuity. Empirically, then, the book provides a detailed account of a specific locale, but also contributes to broader theoretical debates centring on theorisations of margins, borders, connections, networks, embeddedness, neoliberalism, subjectivities, and economic or social flux.