Mark Juergensmeyer: Globalization Comes to Mongolia: "It has been 20 years since I've been in Mongolia, the large country of high desert plains sandwiched between China and Russia, and a lot has changed. Some of it is for the better, a lot of it for the worse. And much of it has to do with globalization.
In 1992 Mongolia had just been liberated from the grips of the Soviet communist system, which did much to provide social services to people but eviscerated the traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture. The managerial formula of state socialism also left little room for democratic participation in governance.
So 20 years ago, the Mongolian air was full of excitement and anticipation. I visited new Buddhist monasteries that seemed to have sprouted up everywhere, and talked with leaders of a plethora of political parties that had emerged to compete in democratic elections. One of them was a Buddhist Party, based on traditional values."
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