MONGOLIA
Can it keep from becoming a de facto colony of China?
For most of the 20th century, Mongolia was a satellite of the Soviet Union, but today it fears China, which has more than a billion people to Mongolia's 3 million. Despite its sparse population -- the country's landscape is "kind of like Mars with oxygen," Kaplan says -- Mongolia has abundant resources, including oil, coal, and grasslands. The crucial question is whether the country, which was ruled by the Chinese during the Qing dynasty, can now prevent China from exploiting its rich natural resources. To do so, Mongolia has encouraged investment from other countries, including Australia, South Korea, and the United States, but its neighbor to the south still looms large.
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