Mongolia-China Relations. Modern and Contemporary Times
The discussions on the ‘peaceful rise of China to power' and its ‘harmonic relations' with the neighbors are especially acute in Mongolia. Although the Great Wall, that used to separate the ancient and medieval Chinese dynasties from the ‘northern barbarians', has become a historic relic, geopolitics still matter. What should be security arrangements in Mongolia to face the growing great neighbor? What would be long-term effects on the Mongolian economy and society? Could China overwhelm Mongolia with its large population? These and other intriguing questions the Sharad Soni's ambitious book sets out to address.
Concurring with the author that the history of Sino-Mongolian relations embodied much more than ‘border raids and tribute missions' if viewed in the longue durѐe perspective, one would anticipate an introductory overview of pre-Mongol polities in the Eurasian steppes. Soni starts with defining historical-cultural features that, in his perception, always distinguished the world of Chinese from the Mongol: nomadic way of life, ‘horse culture', mobility of the army and integral system of administration. The historians on ancient times would, nonetheless, dispute why and how these features, abandoned by the Chinese, framed the Mongol culture: the ethno-genesis of the northern Chinese was complex and no distinct border line between the sedentary and nomadic worlds existed. Medievalists would await elaboration on the centrality and despotism that, in Soni's view, Genghis and Kublai brought into Chinese imperial structures.
Soni explains the modern times' ‘decadence' of the Mongols by fratricidal wars between various Mongol tribes, being played off against each other by the Chinese. The author is at his strongest, when he describes the Manchu influence in separating the Chinese from the Mongols. He rightfully mentions the special role of Inner Mongols in developing ‘national' identity and the idea of pan-Mongolism. Ch. Atwood in his fundamental work showed that the Inner Mongolian revolutionary movement emerged out of the opposition to the Qing system, while the Inner Mongolia's new intelligentsia - from a ‘calling, quasi-religious cause' and desire for an alternative career path.[i] However, Soni, following Mongolian and Soviet historiographies, discovers ‘national liberation movement' among the low strata of Mongolian society. By the 1920 this nationalism developed among the higher circles of Khalkha group in Outer Mongolia and manifested, as the author speculates, loyalty to the Buddhist hierarch Bogdo-Gegen and hatred of Chinese oppression imposed in 1919 by General Hsu.
Using various secondary sources, Soni focuses on the beginning of the 0th century, presenting a well-balanced and rational analysis of Chinese, Russian and Japanese interests in Mongolia. Historiography on later periods, particularly the World War II, is probably reserved for future work.
Soni depicts the Yalta agreement as ‘humiliating' to China and Chian Kai-shek recognition of the MPR in 1946 as a ‘liberal step'. In chapter on the cold war era he tells about the Sino-Mongolian rapprochement in the 1950s and the ‘cooling down' of the relationships at the times of détente. Benefiting from the Sino-Soviet ‘great friendship', Mongolia pursued maintenance of close ties with both the USSR and China (although the Chinese overall assistance was far less than the Soviet). Still, as the author rightfully reckons, at international level Mongolia remained ‘in the shadow' of the Sino-Soviet rivalry, particularly in the 1960-1970s.
Soni's analysis of the competition in the world communist movement leaves the reader wondering about the accessibility of archival materials on the inter-party struggle and power change in the USSR and the MPR. In the usage of archival sources the book does not add a lot to the main published monographs. [ii] The recent research on the politics within the MPRP gives us evidence that the Mongolia's role in the cold war geopolitics was not solely passive.[iii] The cold war in East Asia put Mongolia in a lucrative position: making use of the Soviet diplomatic promotion, gaining Chinese economic assistance, receiving bigger sums from the USSR and European socialist states.
In the last chapter Soni discusses Sino-Mongolian relations in the post-cold war era, starting with the standard statement on the power vacuum left by the USSR's dissolution. While the economic vacuum was filled by Chinese business, the political arena of Mongolia was and still is not dominated by any single player. Mongolia's foreign policy of neutrality, the condition of survival for a small state clenched in between great powers, is reflected in Mongolia's willingness to achieve membership in various regional organizations, such as the APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the PECC and the SCO. Soni, nevertheless, argues that Mongolia identifies itself predominantly with North East Asia, ‘which is the only sub-region having no organizational structure of its own'.[iv]
The author does not exclude a future external threat to Mongolia that might relate to its direct neighbors. Referring to other scholars, like G. Tumurchuluun, Soni expresses concern about possible growth of China's geopolitical interests in Mongolia against the background of retreating Russia. At the same time, he mentions the improvement of Russia-Mongolia co-operation after 2000 and China's preference for a stable northern neighbor able to contribute to its ‘peaceful rise'. The reader will still await the author's judgment on Mongolia's poor demographic performance and the increasing numbers of Chinese migrants in the country, especially in the light of the new legislature.[v]
Soni's book is free from prejudices and politicization and, despite all the drawbacks, should be most welcome. While Mongol studies are declining in Europe we could anticipate their second birth in Asia.
[i] Atwood, Ch.P. 2002. Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia's Interregnum Decades, 1911-1931. Vol. 1,2. Leiden: Brill
[ii] Luzianin, Sergey G. 2000. Rossiya - Mongoliya - Kitai v pervoi polovine XX veka. Politicheskie vzaimootnosheniya v 1911-1946 gg. Moscow: IDV RAN; Barkmann, Udo B. 2001. Die Beziehungen zuischen der Mongolei und der VR China (1952-1996). Hamburg: Mittelungen des Instituts für Asienkunde
[iii] Radchenko, Sergey. 2006. "Mongolian Politics in the Shadow of the Cold War: The 1964 Coup Attempt and the Sino-Soviet Split". Journal of Cold War Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 95-119.
[iv] Soni, p. 217.
[v] Rossabi, Morris, 2004 "Communist and Post-Communist Mongolian Law and Pasture Land". Johnson, Wallace & Popova, Irina. Central Asian Law: An Historical Overview. Kansas: Society for Asian Legal History, pp. 115-118.