Paula L. W. Sabloff – författare

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reorientation of formerly communist countries to the global market system necessitated a restructuring of their educational systems. This book demonstrates how various countries have attempted to reform their higher educational systems to compete in the global marketplace.

Mongolia, a country that evokes romantic curiosity on the part of American readers, has emerged from its former Soviet cocoon. It has achieved independence, democracy, and a twenty-first-century market economy. This book provides factual information about Mongolia and new ways of looking at a historical figure, Genghis Khan, whose ideals of nationhood and democratic principles are in practice now. Modern Mongolia is unique in providing multiple perspectives--Mongolian and American, scholarly and less formal--about the country's developments in a readable style, richly illustrated with 120 full-color contemporary and archival photographs, both scenic and artifactual. The first chapter provides an overview of Mongolian geography and history to the twentieth century and the author's personal experience as a teenager during the 1989-90 democratic revolution. Chapter 2, by a Mongolian historian, recounts the exciting changes from Manchu Dynasty feudal society and autonomous theocracy to Communist nationhood and, finally, full independence as a democratic nation. The third chapter, by a cultural historian, describes the effects of historical changes on the daily life of Mongolian nomads-their clothing, family dwellings (gers), and furnishings. Chapter 4, by an American political anthropologist, shows the connection between modern Mongolians' devotion to democracy and the political ideas of Genghis Khan. Readers of all ages seeking an accessible and picturesque presentation of Mongolian history and society will find Modern Mongolia a fascinating introduction.

Do all people desire democracy? For at least a century, the idea that democracy is a universal good has been an article of faith for American policy makers. Paula Sabloff challenges this conventional wisdom about who wants democracy and why. Arguing that certain universal human aspirations exist, she shows how local realities are highly particularistic and explains that culture, history, and values are critical to the study of political systems. Her fascinating study of Mongolia—feudal until it became the first country to follow Russia into communism and now struggling with post-socialist democratization—is a model for investigating how everyday people around the world actually think about and implement democracy on their own terms.

Do all people desire democracy? For at least a century, the idea that democracy is a universal good has been an article of faith for American policy makers. Paula Sabloff challenges this conventional wisdom about who wants democracy and why. Arguing that certain universal human aspirations exist, she shows how local realities are highly particularistic and explains that culture, history, and values are critical to the study of political systems. Her fascinating study of Mongolia—feudal until it became the first country to follow Russia into communism and now struggling with post-socialist democratization—is a model for investigating how everyday people around the world actually think about and implement democracy on their own terms.