Mongolia borders exactly two countries, Russia and China, with no route to the sea avoiding one of them. Rather than align firmly with one side, it deliberately builds deep political, economic and security relationships with countries that are not geographic neighbours — the United States, Japan, South Korea, the EU, India and Australia. The objective is to create a third option in everything.

Politically and for capital, yes, but it has not erased economic reality. The overwhelming share of Mongolian exports still goes to China and most fuel is imported from Russia. Third neighbours create space and options, but not yet an alternative market.

No. Those naturalising must renounce their prior nationality, and Mongolian citizens acquiring another must resolve that position under the rules. If the objective is to add rather than exchange a nationality, Mongolia is not on the list.

A distinctive disaster type: a dry summer leaving livestock without sufficient fat reserves, followed by an extreme winter with deep snow or an ice crust preventing animals from reaching grass beneath, causing mass death running in some episodes to millions of animals. For a nomadic family the herd is the entire asset base, income and pension, so one dzud can erase everything in a single winter.

It is the direct cause of rural-to-Ulaanbaatar migration over the past thirty years and of the city's expansion into peripheral ger districts. It is a clear example of climate change producing internal migration — the most common form worldwide yet the least discussed, because it raises no nationality question.

Winter pollution ranks among the worst in the world, a direct consequence of ger districts burning coal for heat at temperatures dozens of degrees below zero. It is the largest disadvantage in living conditions, and anyone with respiratory conditions or young children should weigh it carefully.

It is among the largest copper and gold deposits in the world, and has seen years of dispute over contract terms, profit sharing, cost overruns and the Mongolian side's debt burden, requiring repeated renegotiation. Together with Panguna in Papua New Guinea and Kumtor in Kyrgyzstan, these are three instances of one pattern: a mining project too large relative to the economy becomes a political question, however tightly the original contract was drafted.

Mongolia transitioned peacefully to a multiparty system in 1990 and has since maintained a functioning multiparty democracy with power transferring through elections. This distinguishes it clearly from the post-socialist states of the region, and is part of why the third neighbour policy works.