Squeezed between powerful neighbours, for decades Mongolia played the role of buffer state. Its full independence in 1990 offered new opportunities for both economic growth and the restoration of Mongolian identity. But with a huge land area, poor infrastructure and a small population, the new republic is highly vulnerable and also dependent on international support.
This book provides easily accessible information for developers, planners, consultants, scholars, students and others with an interest in contemporary Mongolia. Prefaced by a general overview of the land and society, its chapters, all written by international experts, cover a wide range of topics, including foreign policy, domestic politics, local government structure, living standards and poverty, women in society, grassland management, the common herding household, and science and technology policy. A comprehensive bibliography is provided.

Squeezed between powerful neighbours, for decades Mongolia played the role of buffer state. Its full independence in 1990 offered new opportunities for both economic growth and the restoration of Mongolian identity. But with a huge land area, poor infrastructure and a small population, the new republic is vulnerable and also dependent on international support.;This work covers a range of topics on contemporary Mongolia, including foreign policy, domestic politics, local government structure, living standards and poverty, women in society, grassland management, the common herding household, and science and technology policy.

Contrary to popular manuals, this book approaches fengshui from an academic angle, focusing on its significance in China, but also depicting the recent history of its reinterpretation in the West. It includes a historical account of fengshui over the last 150 years with anthropological fieldwork on contemporary practices in two Chinese rural areas. The author argues that fengshui serves as an alternative tradition of cosmological knowledge to explain a range of everyday occurrences in rural areas such as disease, mental disorders, accidents and common mischief. Although Chinese authorities have opposed the tradition for centuries, it has been used by almost every-one as an aspect of popular cosmology. This title falls in the category of Anthropology, Religious Studies, Environmental Studies, and China. It is suitable for academic researchers and post-graduate students.