Category Archives: Democracy

The Military, Populism, and Trepidation about Single-Party Rule

By Julian Dierkes and Marissa J. Smith The constitutional amendments of Nov 2019 seemed to result from a bargain between Pres. Battulga and the MPP that would allow him to run for another term under the new six-year single term. … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, History, JD Democratization, Military, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Populism, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Constitutional Court and Gridlock in Mongolian Democracy

By Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag and Marissa J. Smith As covered by Mongolia Focus, the Mongolian government made significant changes to the Constitution in 2019. This was the second time that changes have been made since the Democratic Constitution was adopted in … Continue reading

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Stability of Presidential Election System

By Julian Dierkes In June, Mongolians will participate in a presidential election again. The electoral system has remained largely unchanged since the first free election in 1993. In late January 2021 a conference on “Democratic Challenges in Asia and Mongolia” … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Elections, JD Democratization, Party Politics, Populism, Presidential 2021, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Presidential Election Outlook

By Julian Dierkes Parties will nominate candidates my May 2 before Mongolians will vote on a new president on June 9, 2021. Depending on the outcome of the election this will be the 5th or 6th president since the democratic … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Democratic Party, Foreign Policy, JD Democratization, Military, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, National Labor Party, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Democracy Through the Lens of Animal Farm

By Bulgan Batdorj When I recently read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell, a book written as an allegorical critique of the Soviet Union in 1945, I could not help but compare the characters and story to Mongolia. The … Continue reading

Posted in Bulgan Batdorj, Corruption, Democracy, Development | Tagged | Leave a comment

Podcast: 77Nation

On Dec 11 2020, I appeared on the 77Nation podcast for a wide-ranging discussion of Mongolian politics with L Bolor, E Enkhtamir, and B Geser.

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, International Relations, Podcast, Politics | Leave a comment

Democratic Convulsions

By Julian Dierkes Two ongoing convulsions of democracy are having me reflect on Mongolia, elections, and political system challenges: the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan According to Katie Putz, one of the choices that is coming out of the revolutionary upheavals … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Elections, JD Democratization, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia and ..., Politics, United States | Leave a comment

Friends in Defence of Democracy?

By Julian Dierkes Throughout the past 30 years of democratic foreign policy, Mongolia has been a multi-lateral joiner, i.e. eager to participate in international initiatives that raise its profile, in particular aimed at deepening relationships with “Third Neighbours”. Now, there … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., UN | Leave a comment

Guest Post: A Flawed Electoral System?

By Johann Fuhrmann and Max Duckstein Already a day after the elections some independent candidates began to call for a recounting of the ballots. In the following days, smaller parties and parts of the DP joined these demands. But irrespective … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Johann Fuhrmann, Max Duckstein, Party Politics, Politics | Leave a comment

Comparing 2008 and 2020 Elections

By Byambajav Dalaibuyan The 2008 parliamentary election had some features resembling the current election. Election systems A multi-member majoritarian or block voting system was used in 2008. Compared to single-member, majoritarian systems, this system requires candidates to run campaigns in … Continue reading

Posted in Byambajav Dalaibuyan, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Party Politics, Politics, Public Opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Effects of Vote-Buying in Mongolia

By Johann Fuhrmann and Max Duckstein As we get closer to election day, the topic of vote-buying is increasingly coming up in daily conversations in Mongolia. Despite anecdotal evidence of vote-buying being widespread, statistically informed knowledge about the extent of … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, Ikh Khural 2020, Johann Fuhrmann, Law, Max Duckstein, Morals, Party Politics, Politics | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Active but Unrepresented Players – Women’s Political Engagement in Comparative Perspective

By Camille Barras A demographic analysis of candidates to the 2020 Ikh Khural elections has unveiled a low share of women among candidates – just over the 20% legal quota for the two main parties and about 14% only among … Continue reading

Posted in Camille Barras, Democracy, Demography, Elections, Gender, Ikh Khural 2016, Ikh Khural 2020, Presidential 2017 | Leave a comment

Zoom: Mongolia Election Preview, June 1

On June 1, just before the official start of the election campaign in Mongolia, I presented a preview of the election in a Zoom session. Watch the recording of my presentation here: Errata Somehow, I skipped over my introduction slide. … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Public Opinion, Video | Tagged | Leave a comment

Imagining A Perfect Election Day and Joint Observation Mission in Mongolia

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Mongolia will be the second northeast Asian country to conduct a parliamentary election amidst the current pandemic following South Korea. Learning from my Korean colleagues, the South Korean parliamentary election was successful with the highest voter turnout … Continue reading

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The Demos Party: Women Candidates, Multi-Ethnic Mongolia, and Third Party Rural Strategy

By Marissa J. Smith Among the four independent parties we are following, the Demos (ЗОН) Party has an interesting mix of most sophisticated web presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, website, and even Wikipedia page!) and its fielding of candidates in every … Continue reading

Posted in Countryside, Democracy, Elections, Ethnic Groups, Gender, Geography, Ikh Khural 2020, Marissa Smith, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment