| More than 20 years after Mongolia's transition to democracy and capitalism, the growth of civil society organizations and cultural heritage initiatives is changing the ways that stakeholders within and outside Mongolia work to construct an independent, sovereign, developed nation. Many policymakers view cultural heritage preservation in the 21st century as a method to offset the homogenizing effects of globalization in a way that empowers diverse communities. How people understand the cultural and economic "value" of cultural heritage then becomes part of larger projects of development and democratization. By framing heritage as a socially constructed process, envisioned through the rhetorics of world heritage and cultural diversity, these programs and terminologies become connected to overarching dialogues in deciding what are ideal systems of governance and social services. Similarly, the growth of non-profit organizations in Mongolia and their fluid relationships with international donors give Mongolian stakeholders different avenues to work towards a Mongolian society that is responsive to the needs and interests of its people. While working with a Mongolian arts & culture non-profit organization for ten months, I conducted a variety of surveys and interviews with Mongolian and international stakeholders to explore why Mongolian organizations seek out particular relationships with international donors and with the Mongolian government in order to build different types of organizational capacity. My further surveys and interviews with Mongolians from diverse segments of society focused on how they understood their cultural heritage and why they viewed the Mongolian government, their fellow citizens, and international organizations like UNESCO as having different responsibilities in protecting that heritage. Nomadic herding in particular is a strong heritage symbol, but its changing economic and cultural relevance as a lifestyle has profound implications for how minority and "Indigenous" cultures are recognized and protected. Within the international policy frameworks for indigeneity, multiple actors use or ignore weighted terms and claims to heritage to argue for particular rights to identity, power, and land. Together, my research explores the myriad ways Mongolian culture and cultural heritage are understood and employed by different stakeholders for diverse and sometimes contradictory purposes. |
