Political Reform in Mongolia: Between Russia and China

Abstract

Transforming socialist regimes can be broadly characterized in two ways. The Chinese model in which economic liberalization is adopted without political competition has been replicated to varying degrees by other Asian socialist regimes in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In contrast, the Eastern European model is one of political change proceeding apace with economic reform. An interesting case combining elements of these two models of socialist transformation is that of Mongolia, formerly the Mongolian People's Republic. For 70 years a client state of the Soviet Union, Mongolia was sometimes known as the unofficial sixteenth republic of the USSR. Following the radical changes in Eastern Europe in 1990, Mongolia's Communist Party introduced political pluralism but unlike its counterparts in those countries, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has retained power since 1990 despite allowing electoral competition and political freedom. It has introduced significant economic reforms, which may soon begin to produce positive growth. Among former Soviet bloc nations, Mongolia's economy was the most dependent on outside assistance measured as a percentage of GDP. When the Soviet bloc disintegrated and cut off its aid to poorer socialist countries, Mongolia experienced the most serious peacetime economic collapse any nation has faced during this century.' Yet Mongolia's political road has proved remarkably smooth compared to most of the former Soviet republics. There have been no violent attempts to overthrow the government, and although the opposition has been active and vocal, political conflict has by and large been