Dr. Undraa Agvaanluvsan, a former member of Mongolia’s Parliament recently explained her country’s challenges in coping with a changing global order.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed how global politics works. Instead of peace, prosperity and globalization, the scenario became war, recession and “near shore.” Suddenly, the world was separated into a conflict between the US and Europe on one hand and Russia and China on the other, enforced by sanctions and bullying. Everybody else was supposed to choose one side or the other.

What about Mongolia? It is a democracy in a region where that is unusual, almost unique. But it is geographically sandwiched between China and Russia, making it almost impossible to avoid their embrace, especially if they can’t be played off against each other.

What to do?

Dr. Undraa Agvaanluvsan who holds a doctorate in physics, is a former member of Mongolia’s Parliament. She recently explained her country’s challenges in coping with a changing global order.

Listen to the episode here or find the New Thininkg for a New World podcast on a platform of your choice (Apple podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google podcast, Youtube, etc).

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ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Undraa Agvaanluvsan currently serves as the president of Mitchell Foundation for Arts and Sciences. She is also an Asia21 fellow of the Asia Society and co-chair of Mongolia chapter of the Women Corporate Directors, a global organization of women serving in public and private corporate boards.

Dr. Undraa Agvaanluvsan is a former Member of Parliament of Mongolia and the chair of the Parliamentary subcommittee on Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to being elected as a legislator, she served as an Ambassador-at-large in charge of nuclear security issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia,  where she worked on nuclear energy and fuel cycle, uranium and rare-earth minerals policy issues.

She is a nuclear physicist by training, obtained her PhD at North Carolina State University, USA and diploma in High Energy Physics at the International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. She conducted research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA and taught energy policy at International Policy Studies Program at Stanford University, where she is currently an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation.