Contribution short abstract:

How did the inclusion of Inner Mongolia as an ‘Autonomous’ province of China cause the ongoing loss of Mongolian autonomy and grassland? The policies of the Communist Chinese Party in the industrialization and political ‘autonomy’ led to Inner Mongolia’s environmental and cultural degradation.

Contribution long abstract:

How did the inclusion of Inner Mongolia as an ‘Autonomous’ province of China cause the ongoing loss of Mongolian autonomy and grassland? The policies of the Communist Chinese Party in the industrialization and political ‘autonomy’ led to Inner Mongolia’s environmental and cultural degradation.

Although the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was founded in 1947, two years prior to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Inner Mongolian policies were centered around the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. The development of these policies led to a Chinese interest in developing and settling Han peoples onto Inner Mongolian lands, bringing an industrial and agricultural economy with them. Without proper farming knowledge, many Mongolians rented out their lands for agricultural development by Han settlers, who during the redistribution of wealth under the PRC turned on these Mongolian landowners for being landlords. This led to a constant tug of war between Inner Mongolia’s leader Ulanfu and the CCP on defining policies that would incorporate Han and Mongolian friendship, while also protecting Mongolians from Han subjugation.

However, Inner Mongolian policies never helped secure the ethnic group as truly ‘autonomous’, allowing a mass migration of Han settlers to slowly dominate and change not only the population, but also the culture of Inner Mongolia. This unfortunate reality has caused a dramatic increase in the desertification of the region, as well as decreased attention towards Mongolian culture and language.