Meeting Basic Needs, Embracing the World and Protecting the State: Balancing Human and Traditional Security in the New Mongolia

Mongolia has been at the forefront of Asian nations that have systematically examined and adopted the idea of human security to complement notions of national, regional, and international security. Mongolia faces unique development and security challenges as a geographically large but sparsely populated and weak developing country in transition from a Soviet-style system to a market economy and democratic society. Among the challenges are transboundary environmental problems, economic and cultural globalization, and limited military security. Mongolian territory is thus vulnerable to external threats from immigration, invasion, ecology, and regional instability. But the country has taken domestic and international initiatives to promote new human security policies and programs that respond to these concerns. This article assesses these developments.