Introduction

This section introduces the main thesis of the book: Mongolia is imagined as a country of nomads when, in reality, the vast majority of Mongolians have - for as long as four centuries - been settled in and around cities, towns and aimag and sum centers. Additionally, even Mongolians who are herders have long been unable to move freely in a smooth space, as dictated by the needs of their herds, and as they would as free roaming “nomads.” Instead, they have been subjected to various constraints across time that have significantly limited their movement. Rather than a realistic description of the country, the Mongolia-as-nomadic-nation trope is an essentializing and orientalizing projection of Mongolia.