Cultural Security in Contemporary China and Mongolia

The chapters in this volume explore the major cultural markers, by which an ethnic community defines its cultural identity and cultural affiliation. These markers can differ when perceived as coming from within or from outside of a group and can be re-defined according to inner or outer circumstances. Their importance can increase when a community feels endangered in their cultural existence, or diminish when perceived cultural identity of a group and its members is not questioned. This collective monograph thus not only applies the term "cultural security" exclusively to state- or institution-implemented processes, but also considers the indigenous, bottom-up, and inside-out mechanisms of establishing and maintaining communal cultural security of an ethnic group. The dynamics shaping cultural security are illustrated in examples of ethnic communities in the People's Republic of China and in Mongolia.