Everyday politics; local governance; democratization; law and society; political anthropology; pastoralism; resource governance; Central Asia.

Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia

Yelif Ulagpan is a doctoral candidate at the Chair of Prof. Peter Finke. She conducts research within the project Sociology of Authoritarian Law: Insights from Central Asia, examining how law, local governance, and democratization are experienced and negotiated in rural Kazakhstan from a bottom-up perspective.

With a background in political science, Yelif brings an interdisciplinary approach to her research, drawing on ethnographic methods to examine everyday politics, local governance, and state–society relations. Her current research explores how villagers navigate, contest, and participate in local governance processes through everyday practices surrounding pasture management and resource access in post-Soviet Kazakhstan.

Previously, she was affiliated with SDSN Kazakhstan through the SDGnexus Network project and with the Center for the History of Global Development at Shanghai University. She holds an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from Shanghai University and a BA from the National University of Mongolia.

Ulagpan, Y. (2021). Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges for Mongolia. Asia-Pacific Journal, 19(3), e3.

Ulagpan, Y., & Schlag, J. (forthcoming). The Making of New Traditions: Understanding Environmental Needs and Transforming Land Use in Mongolia. In Environment, Development and Culture in South and East Asia. Springer Nature.

Vorobyeva, A., Ulagpan, Y., Dosmaganbetov, A., Tleukhanova, A., Batyrkhan, A., & Xenarios, S. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Economic Development in Kazakhstan. CAREC Institute.

Akhmadieva, Z., & Ulagpan, Y. (2025). Pasture Management and Land Degradation Issues in the Pavlodar Region. CABAR.asia.