Citizen Groups in Mongolia – possibilities and barriers
Keywords:
Mongolia, Citizens Groups, Social capital, Social Work, WomenAbstract
Citizen Groups, almost exclusively comprising women, are emerging in ger district, an intriguing mix of the nomadic culture and rapid urbanization with significant social challenges. Current knowledge and policy to support citizen-led initiatives is limited in Mongolia. except for those successful examples of micro-financing and micro enterprising in Southern and South East Asian countries. In Mongolia government policies and funding schemes lack mechanisms to financially support groups like CGs.This paper draws on insights from research with three Citizens Groups seeking to build social and economic opportunities for ger residents through collaborative partnerships with governments, NGOs and the business. The paper argues that whilst Citizens Groups create bonding and bridging social capital that reduce the social, economic, and environmental vulnerability of ger residents their capacity to mobilise linking social capital remains tenuous. Citizens Groups remain institutionally weak, and this paper calls for greater recognition and support of their activities.
References
Anglin, R. (2011). Promoting sustainable local and community economic development. CRC Press.
Bertotti, M., Harden, A., Renton, A., & Sheridan, K. (2012). The contribution of a social enterprise to the building of social capital in a disadvantaged urban area of London. Community Development Journal, 47(2), 168–183. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsr020
Chen, Y. Y. and Ku, Y. W. (2017) Community practice at a crossroad: the approaches and challenges in Taiwan, Community Development Journal, 52 (1), 76–91.
Choi, C. (2014). Inexorable rise of ger in Mongolia: Demolition for redevelopment or conservation for improvement? International Review of Public Administration, 17, 121–141 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12294659.2012.10805230
City Mayor’s Office (2014) Development Strategy for Ulaanbaatar City - 2020 and development trend till 2030. Ulaanbaatar. Available online at: https://uda.ub.gov.mn/?p=972 (accessed 18 September 2020).
City population. (2020). Ulaanbaatar. Retrieved from City Population: https://www.citypopulation.de/en/mongolia/admin/511__ulaanbaatar/
Claridge, T. (2004) Social Capital and Natural Resource Management: An important role for social capital? Unpublished Thesis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. The American Journal of Sociology, 94(1) Supplement: Organizations and institutions: Sociological and economic approaches to the analysis of social structure, 95-120.
Defourny, J. & Kim, S.-Y. (2011). Emerging models of social enterprise in Eastern Asia: a cross-country analysis. Social Enterprise Journal, 7(1), 86–111. https://doi.org/10.1108/17508611111130176
Gray, M. and J. Coates (2010) “Indigenization” and Knowledge Development: Extending the Debate’, International Social Work, 53(5), 613–27.
Integrated Statistics Fund (2018). Population. Available online at: https://www.1212.mn/Stat.aspx?LIST_ID=976_L03&type=tables (accessed 25 October 2020).
Law for NGOs (1997). Available at https://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/494
Lunenburg, M., Geuijen,K., Meijer, A. (2020). How and Why Do Social and Sustainable Initiatives Scale? A Systematic Review of the Literature on Social Entrepreneurship and Grassroots Innovation. Voluntas, 31, 1013-1024.
McTaggart, R. (1997). Chapter 2. Guiding principles for participatory action research. In McTaggart (Ed).Participatory Action Research.25-45, New York, New York, USA.
Mearns, R. (1995). Community, collective action and common grazing: the case of post-socialist Mongolia. Journal of Development Studies, 32(3), 297–339.
Macke, A, & Dilly, l. (2010). Social capital dimensions in collaborative networks: The role of linking social capital. Uludağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 3(2), 121–136.
Milofsky, C (2006). The Catalyst process: What academics provide to practitionets. Non-profit Management and Leadership. 16(4), 467-480.
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs Mongolia (MOJHA). (2017). Assessment of Mongolia Laws in search for provisions nebaling citizen participation. Printed by the Citizen Participation II Project.
Morais-da-Silva, R., Segatto, A., & Bezerra-de-Sousa, I. (2019). Connecting Two Sides: A Qualitative Study on Social Innovation Ventures and Poor Communities in an Emerging Economy. Voluntas (Manchester, England), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00156-x
Myadar, O. (2011) ‘Imaginary Nomads: Deconstructing the Representation of Mongolia as a Land of Nomads’, Inner Asia, 13, 335–62.
Ninacs, W. A., & Sherraden, M. S. (1998). Community economic development and social work. Haworth Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203705933
Onyx, J., & Bullen, P. (2000). Measuring Social Capital in Five Communities. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 36(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886300361002
Putnam, R. (2000) Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American Community. Touchstone. New York.
Shek, D.T.L. (2017) ‘A Snapshot of Social Work in the Asia-Pacific Region’, British Journal of Social Work, 47(1), 1–8.
Statistics Department of Ulaanbaatar. (2020). Reports and Research. Retrieved from Statistics Department of Ulaanbaatar, Available at http://ubstat.mn/Report
Stol, I., & Adiya E (2010) Intergenerational relationships in Mongolia: togetherness as a family unit. Journal of Intergenerational Relations, 8 (1), 83–89.
Terbish, B. and M. Rawsthorne (2016). Social Exclusion in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development 26(2–3), 88–101.
Terbish, B. and M. Rawsthorne (2018) The State and Civil Society: the case of Citizens’ Groups in the ger districts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Community Development Journal, doi:10.1093/cdj/bsy063, 1-17.
Terbish, B., Lietaert, I., Roets, G. (2020). Shifting senses of solidarity and belonging in the internal migration pathways of citizens in ger areas in Ulaanbaatar: A social work perspective. International Social Work, pp.1-14.
Tian, R., Chui, C. & Hu, X. (2018) Emergent models and strategies of social enterprises in China, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 28:2, 111-127, DOI: 10.1080/02185385.2018.
Urban Development and Research Center (UDRC) (2020). Citizen Participation-Savings Groups. Ulaanbaatar: UDRC.
Undarya, T. (2013). State of civil society development in Mongolia, Mongolian journal of international affairs, 18, 58–63.
United Nations Mongolia (UN Mongolia) (2020). Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia. Available at https://mongolia.un.org/en/sdgs
Woolcock, M. (2001). Microenterprise and social capital. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 30(2), 193–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-5357(00)00106-2
World Bank (2015). Land Administration and Management in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Washington, DC: World Bank.
