Young Mongols: Forging Democracy in the Wild Wild East

by Aubrey Menard

In 1990, Mongolia’s youth-led revolution threw off the Soviet yoke, ushering in multi­party democracy. Thirty years later, the country’s youth are still leading Mongolia’s democratic development.

This powerful, inclusive book introduces readers to modern Mongolia through the stories of young leaders fighting to make their country a better, more democratic place. Its intersectional perspective explores the complexity of Mongolia today: the urban planning and pollution issues that plague the capital city of Ulaanbaatar; the struggles of women, the LGBTQIA+ population, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities to claim their equitable places in society; the challenge of providing education in the world’s least densely-populated country to prepare the workforce of tomorrow; and how to fairly divide the spoils of the country’s vast mineral resource wealth.

This rising generation of Mongolians is already wielding real power and shaping their country's future. Their work will determine whether the country is able to overcome its development and democratization challenges, its relationship to the world, and who the winners (and losers) will be in Mongolian society.

Genres: Asia, Nonfiction

340 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2020

About the author

Aubrey Menard lived in Mongolia as a Luce Scholar from 2015 to 2016. She’s worked on democracy and governance issues in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Central America, and the United States.

Aubrey is an expert on political transitions, elections, and democracy. She’s been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Politico, the South China Morning Post, and more.

Aubrey earned an MPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She is a Critical Language Scholar (Russian) and a Truman National Security Project Fellow. Young Mongols is her first book.

Reviews

[Aubrey Menard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be biased, but this book is pretty great.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this for the Asian Review of Books:
https://asianreviewofbooks.com/conten...

[Dimitri Staszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly insightful book about contemporary Mongolia and the young people who are increasingly the driving force behind so much of the country's future. Read it!

[Anujin Zor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aubrey, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and effort in writing this incredible book!

[Sharon Bellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped to introduce me to all sorts of info I had no idea about, and was a great showcase of young leaders - really well written and engaging. Would recommend.

[Reda Wigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic, necessary book.

[Doug Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Mongols is one of the most exciting books I've seen about this generation. Reading about the young folks creating the future of Mongolia inspires a call to action for any person who believes their society can do better! A must read for any who want to create a new future.

[Jonathan Jasinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good look at the social and political issues a young democracy faces. Corruption is rife, the marginalized are ignored, but there are those speaking up for change- it’s depressing, it’s hopeful, it’s unflinching and honest throughout. Felt like the last few chapters could have been a bit stronger, “labor” especially- I’m curious about average salary, hours worked, safety, etc., but what’s there is still interesting and important. Great book overall, it shows how democracy doesn’t just immediately solve everything, but it also shows how increased freedom gives people the chance to work on issues.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Fascinating, moving, and inspiring—highly recommended to anyone even remotely interested in Mongolia or development and activism in a post-Soviet-era country. A really valuable snapshot in time of a nation that's rarely written about in English.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’ve been searching for books about Mongolia, most of them are history books, largely about Chinggis Khan. That’s great, but a lot has changed since then, and I wanted some info on modern Mongolia. Enter Young Mongols!

I’m always skeptical of western writers writing about non-western topics, but in this case, Menard does a truly excellent job of highlighting Mongolians young people of a wide variety of backgrounds and industries and letting them tell their own stories.

The LGBTQ+ chapter was probably my favorite, though the ending is heartbreaking. The tension between traditional shamanism, Christian missionaries, communist atheism, and modern values was fascinating and something I’m always interested in learning more about, so special shout-out to that section.

The biggest plus for me was that small businesses are highlighted, in addition to educational, environmental, feminist, LGBTQ+, and other organizations. As someone who will be a tourist in Ulaanbaatar, I am so excited to have a list of small businesses and cafes to support, as well as small shops.

Mongolia is a fascinating place, and I really loved the conclusion that put the 30 years of democracy into context- they are just getting started, and with so many incredible young people coming back to Mongolia to lift up others, I suspect democracy will only get stronger.

Highly recommend this if you are interested in post-Soviet countries and the incredible work of young people.

[Yuri Faenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on Mongolian activists. It is a nice complement to the book "My Mongolia", where the evolution of the last 30 years of Mongolian society were seen "from the top" (the head of one of Mongolia largest banks). Here, the author tells the stories of Mongolian citizens that through passion and years of efforts try to make a change on human rights, access to high-quality education, right to a pollution-free environment, and other sensible topics. Broad and extensively researched. Two flaws: of all controversies, we only see "one side", i.e., the one the author decides is the right one. I would have appreciated if more points of view on the same subject were reported. Second: data does not seem to be always use appropriately, and there are some mistakes (like Bolsonaro president of Chile!). The book would have benefited from some more work by an external editor to correct some of these misuses. A fascinating read nevertheless.