Between War and Peace. Mongolia and the Making of Eurasian Order

3rd Biennial Cambridge Mongolia Forum Marking the 40th Anniversary of MIASU The Cambridge Mongolia Forum, developed by MIASU and the Mongolian Embassy in London, brings Mongolian scholars and policymakers into dialogue with Cambridge-based researchers on major regional issues. It aims to connect urgent policy concerns with historical depth, comparative analysis, and rigorous academic interpretation. This third Forum focuses on the expanding space between war and peace: a condition marked by prolonged hostilities, securitisation, fragile diplomacy, and the risk of escalation. Against the backdrop of the Russia–Ukraine War and shifting Eurasian alignments, Mongolia faces a constrained geopolitical environment between Sino–Russian alignment, democratic commitments, and “third neighbour” partnerships. The Forum also examines how Inner Asian peoples across Russia, Mongolia, and China are affected by militarisation, ethnic stereotyping, state securitisation, and decisions made far from their own communities. Marking MIASU’s 40th anniversary, the Forum revisits long-term Eurasian debates on order-making, including Chinggisid legacies, while addressing contemporary questions of peace diplomacy, military culture, and minority governance. Across five panels, the Forum asks: how are war and peace made, governed, and narrated across Eurasia today, and what can Mongolia and Inner Asian histories contribute to strengthening the conditions for peace? After clicking “Reserve a spot”, you will have the option to book tickets for Day 1, the Day 1 reception, and/or Day 2. Day One Empire, Diplomacy, and Mongolia's Place in the Eurasian Order 11:00–11:30 – Welcome & Opening Remarks Caroline Humphrey | Founder of MIASU David Sneath | Director of MIASU H.E. Munkhjin Batsumber | Mongolian Ambassador to the UK Uradyn E. Bulag | Organiser, Cambridge Mongolia Forum 11:30–13:00 – Panel 1: Conquests and Peace in Chinggisid Eurasia Chair: Caroline Humphrey, MIASU, Cambridge David Sneath | University of Cambridge A Peasantry in the Guise of an Army: The Mongol Empire and the Political Economy of Warfare on the Steppe Ayşe Zarakol | University of Cambridge How historically unique was Chinggisid Sovereignty? L. Munkh-Erdene | National University of Mongolia War and Peace in the Chinggisid Tradition: Insights from Conquest Theory 13:00–14:00– Lunch 14:00–15:30 – Panel 2: Mongolia's Peace Diplomacy in an Age of War: Religion, Survival and Sovereignty Chair: Uradyn Bulag, MIASU, Cambridge Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva | MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society Mongolia's Buddhist Peace in the International Order Zolboo Sandag | University of Bern Between Pan-Mongolism and Survival: Peace Diplomacy in Mongolia, 1911–1930 Javzandorj Byambatseveen | Ember Cyber Service Mongolia LLC Cybersecurity as Sovereignty Governance: Data Security and National Resilience in Mongolia 15:30–16:00– Break 16:00–17:00–Onon Prize Lecture followed by Q&A Nicola Di Cosmo | Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton From War to Peace in the Mongol Empire 17:00–20:00–Onon Prize Ceremony MIASU 40th Anniversary Reception Day Two Minorities, Wars, and the Struggle for Peace in Eurasia 09:15–09:30–Welcome & Day 2 Introduction 09:30–11:00–Panel 3: Reinventing Inner Asian Military Cultures in the Twenty-First Century Chair: Kristina Jonutytė, MIASU, Cambridge Sayana Namsaraeva | MIASU, Cambridge "Awakening the Sleeping Genes of Chinggis Khan": Buryat Soldiers and Post-Mongol Empire Ressentiment in Wartime Russia Hildegard Diemberger | University of Cambridge Defending the Land in the Twenty-First Century: More-than-Human Perspectives from the Himalayan Borderlands Stephan Dudeck | Lithuanian Institute of History Militarised Masculinities on the Periphery: Economic Precarity, Inequality, and Indigenous Recruitment in Russia's War 11:00–11:15–Break 11:15–12:45–Panel 4: Remilitarisation of Minorities in the Russia–Ukraine War Chair: Sayana Namsaraeva, MIASU, Cambridge Kristina Jonutytė | University of Cambridge "We're not very dramatic": Agency, Victimhood and Belonging among Inner Asian Wartime Migrants from Russia Hiroki Takakura | Tohoku University War multiculturalism in Russia and Siberian Indigenous Peoples Maria Vyushkova | University of Cambridge 2022 Partial Mobilisation Campaign in Russia and Its Impact on Russia's Ethnic Minorities: What We Know as of 2026 12:45–14:00– Lunch Keynote Address Gulnaz Sharafutdinova| King's College London Holding On to Who We Are: Land, Memory, and Minority Belonging in Russia 14:45–15:00–Break 15:00–16:30–Panel 5: Civilisational Peace, Frontier Violence and Minority Governance in China Chair: Hildegard Diemberger, MIASU, Cambridge Robert Barnett | King's College London A "Life-and-death Struggle": Pacifist versus Militarist Claims in Tibetan and Chinese Rhetoric Mukaddes Muhtar | Palacky University Olomouc, Czechia The Craft Guilds as Mediators between the State and Local Craft-Makers in Rural Southern Xinjiang Uradyn E. Bulag | University of Cambridge Conquest for Peace: The Cunning of China's Peace Gene 16:30–18:00–Roundtable: What Role Can Minorities Play in Building Eurasian Peace?