Pastoralism and the State in China’s Inner Mongolia

Abstract

The Chinese government has downgraded use of the Mongol language in schools in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is now using its brand of state environmentalism to rein in Mongol pastoralists, blaming them for the degradation of grasslands. By targeting language and land use, the two pillars of Mongol autonomy, the state has shown that it is prepared to override the very limited forms of autonomy still enjoyed by China’s minority nationalities. Mongol leaders are responding by working within the state and its discourses to preserve pastoralism, casting herders not as keepers of a timeless nomadic culture but as partners in preserving biodiversity and stemming desertification.