The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline and political cynicism in Russian–Mongolian relations

Bibliographic Data

ID11450093
AuthorsMartin Zubko (0000-0002-2770-875X, Metropolitan University Prague, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-21
Publication date2026-03-23
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCentral Asian Survey (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0263-4937 • E-ISSN: 1465-3354
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02634937.2026.2632871
OpenAlexW7140133105
LanguageEN
References cited25

This article reconceptualises political cynicism as an elite-driven discursive practice in Russo–Mongolian relations, using the Power of Siberia 2 (PS2) gas pipeline as a revealing case. It demonstrates how Russia mobilizes moralized rhetoric – ‘friendship’, ‘shared history’, ‘strategic partnership’ – to legitimise asymmetry and retain symbolic leverage whilst eschewing substantive commitments. The analysis identifies four mechanisms through which political cynicism sustains this asymmetry. First, historical discursive anchoring binds contemporary dependence to Soviet-era narratives. Second, performative diplomacy stages cooperation whilst decoupling symbolic affirmation from material delivery. Third, obfuscation of asymmetry deploys egalitarian terminology to mask structural imbalances. Finally, normalization of structural neglect renders chronic inaction politically acceptable through structured ambiguity. Drawing on diplomatic discourse (1912–2025) and quantitative data on investment, debt and energy, the study reveals how Russia preserves a discursive influence whilst remaining materially disengaged from Mongolia’s Vision 2050. By contrast, delivery-backed Third Neighbour Policy initiatives underscore the limits of political cynicism.

Cynicism · Pipeline (software · Politics · Power (physics · Central Asia Education and Culture · Global Energy Security and Policy · Russia and Soviet political economy

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