The Evolution of Mongolia-NATO Relations: From Adversaries to Partners in Peacekeeping and Gender Inclusivity

As a former member of the Soviet bloc, Mongolia once viewed NATO as a formidable adversary. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s marked a turning point for Mongolia, prompting its transition to democracy and a market economy. This shift allowed Mongolia to redefine its foreign and security policies, which had been heavily influenced by the Kremlin for nearly 70 years. A key outcome of this reorientation was the adoption of a “third neighbor” policy, designed to develop partnerships with countries beyond its immediate neighbours, Russia and China, as well as with international organisations like NATO. This approach has positioned Mongolia as a dynamic player in global peace and security, fostering collaborations with countries and institutions that align with its democratic values.

Historical Foundations and Peacekeeping Commitments

During the 1990s, the Mongolian Ministry of Defense made substantial efforts to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, which was established to support defense reforms in former socialist and Soviet republics. These efforts included appointing Mongolia’s first resident defense attaché in Brussels, organising visits for senior officials to NATO headquarters, and securing endorsements from visiting Western dignitaries during their visits to Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia’s peacekeeping initiatives, which started in 2002, became a cornerstone of its cooperation with NATO. Over the years, Mongolia has deployed troops to peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, thereby strengthening its partnership with the military alliance. By 2010, Mongolia was officially recognised as a troop-contributing country to NATO. The following year, the country was designated as one of nine global partners in NATO’s Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program, facilitating collaboration in areas of mutual interest. Mongolia’s engagement extends to defense education as well, with its National Defense University participating in NATO’s Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP), which focuses on curriculum development and faculty training.

Mongolia’s Commitment to Women, Peace, and Security in Global Peacekeeping

Since becoming a full-fledged member of the United Nations, Mongolia has consistently demonstrated its commitment to implementing various UN resolutions, including the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000). In line with this resolution, Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa pledged at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 to increase the proportion of Mongolian women peacekeepers by 15 per cent. This commitment has already yielded significant result: approximately 900 female personnel from the Mongolian Armed Forces are currently deployed across seven UN peacekeeping missions worldwide. Mongolia now ranks eighth among 120 troop-contributing countries, 16th in terms of female peacekeeper contribution, and first in Northeast Asia in this category.

Building on its longstanding contributions to global peacekeeping, Mongolia continues to explore opportunities for collaboration with NATO. With the conclusion of NATO's mission in Afghanistan, the alliance and its partners, including Mongolia, are reevaluating their roles in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment. For Mongolia, this presents an opportunity to build on its significant contributions to NATO-led operations while aligning its peacekeeping priorities with emerging international standards. Central to these efforts is Mongolia’s commitment to advancing gender inclusivity through the lens of the 2024 NATO Policy on Women, Peace, and Security and UN Security Council Resolution 1325. By proactively reviewing these frameworks, Mongolia aims to ensure its peacekeeping initiatives not only meet international benchmarks but also reinforce its reputation as a progressive and responsible actor in global peace and security.

An analysis of these two policy documents reveals that the 2024 NATO Policy on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) aligns with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by reinforcing the core pillars of the WPS agenda: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery. NATO’s political and military actions are guided by four strategic objectives derived from the global WPS agenda and tailored to its mission. These objectives include fostering gender-responsive leadership and accountability to ensure leaders actively support gender equality and the implementation of the WPS agenda; achieving gender balance across all levels to promote the meaningful participation of women in peace and security efforts; enhancing prevention efforts against threats to women and girls, while involving women in crisis management; and actively safeguarding women and girls from gender-based violence through proactive protection strategies.

This commitment to integrating gender perspectives into peacekeeping is reflected in Mongolia’s contributions to NATO-led operations. Even before the adoption of NATO’s Policy on Women, Peace, and Security, Mongolian female personnel were deployed as part of the country’s contingent in the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.¹At the request of the German government, these female personnel collaborated with their German counterparts to engage with Afghan women and children. Due to cultural and social norms, Afghan women and children often face significant restrictions in engaging openly with men outside their immediate families. This collaboration allowed Mongolian female peacekeepers to foster trust and communication within communities, playing a vital role in achieving mission’s objectives and highlighting the importance of gender-specific roles in peacekeeping efforts.

NATO’s policy aligns with the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by emphasising the meaningful participation of women in peacebuilding and conflict prevention by setting goals for gender inclusion at all decision-making levels, which is essential for advancing the WPS agenda. However, the deployment of Mongolian female peacekeepers highlights a gap between presence and meaningful participation. These peacekeepers, while deployed with contingents, are primarily assigned administrative, logistical, or support tasks, limiting their potential impact on peacekeeping missions. To address this, the Mongolian Armed Forces has been implementing gender equality policies since 2020. Significant strides include the establishment of a Sub-Council on Gender within the General Staff, the introduction of the “Gender Officer” roles within peacekeeping leadership, and training over 150 military personnel in gender responsiveness and sensitivity. These efforts mark a crucial step toward ensuring that women’s contributions are both substantive and transformative in peace operations.

The 2014 NATO WPS policy represents a significant shift in the global security paradigm, contributing to feminist security studies by emphasising inclusivity, human rights, and social justice in conflict resolution. It promotes a broader conception of security that extends beyond traditional military objectives, integrating social equity and the protection of marginalised communities. While NATO remains primarily a defense alliance, this policy encourages member states and partners to consider non-military dimensions of security, facilitating a gradual but essential evolution towards more inclusive and sustainable approaches to peace.

NATO’s diverse membership, which includes global powers like the United States and Germany as well as smaller nations such as North Macedonia, underscores the alliance’s strength as well as its unique challenges. Each member state is guided by its unique political, economic, and security priorities, which can complicate efforts to achieve cohesion on key policy issues. However, gender inclusivity presents a unique area of opportunity. Unlike traditional hard security concerns, gender inclusivity is often less politically divisive, allowing a broader consensus and cooperation among nations. This relative openness to collaboration positions NATO to make meaningful progress on gender-related initiatives, even in the face of divergent national interests on more contentious security matters.

NATO provides a valuable framework for Mongolia to formalise and expand its relationship with European nations. Through these platforms, Mongolia has strengthened its connections with countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Turkey, as well as Austria, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden. This collaboration lays the groundwork for deeper partnerships, particularly through discussion on gender issues, which can further align Mongolia with NATO member states’ broader WPS agenda.

Structural Challenges to Gender Equality within NATO

However, the nature of NATO as a collective security organization composed of sovereign member states poses challenges to addressing structural gender inequalities comprehensively. Member states exhibit varying levels of commitment to the WPS agenda; while some countries lead these efforts, others lag behind. This discrepancy is exemplified by defense spending patterns: prior to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, only three NATO members met the alliance’s guideline of spending 2 per cent of their GDP on defense. Despite an expectation that 23 of the 31 members would achieve this spending target, the shortfall underscores inconsistencies in adherence to NATO policies and guidelines. These variations also affect the implementation of the WPS policy, limiting its uniform adoption across both operational and strategic levels.

Furthermore, while NATO’s WPS policy promotes gender representation, it falls short of addressing the deep-seated institutional norms and power dynamics within the alliance. NATO’s longstanding, male-dominated structures present significant barriers to turning policy goals into actionable outcomes, particularly in member states where patriarchal military cultures are deeply rooted. This male-centric environment often marginalises those who do not conform to traditional norms, creating a less inclusive atmosphere for women and non-binary individuals. Consequently, the WPS policy’s effectiveness is hindered by resistance to change across various organisational levels. To overcome these challenges, NATO must adopt a more transformative approach, one that not only promotes gender equality on paper but also reshapes its institutional culture to foster lasting inclusivity and equity.

Conclusion

Mongolia’s evolving partnership with NATO reveals a significant shift in its foreign policy and its commitment to inclusive global peace and security. Mongolia has become a key player on the global stage for inclusive security practices through its contributions to peacekeeping missions, with a focus on gender equality under the WPS agenda. While challenges persist within NATO, Mongolia’s continued efforts to integrate gender into peace operations, along with its collaboration with NATO, highlight the potential for a more inclusive and effective approach to global peacekeeping.

The opinions and statements of the guest authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion and position of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

• ¹ Peace support operations department, General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces, 26 March 2022.