NEWS & EVENTS

The Challenge of Democratic Transition in Mongolia

On Friday, March 8, 2019, the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies and Dr. Kent Calder, Vice Dean at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | SAIS, hosted Mr. Jargalsaikhan Dambadarjaa, founder and CEO of The Defacto Institute, who presented his views on the politics and economics of modern Mongolia.

Mr. Jargalsaikhan explained that although Mongolia is proud of its 30 year transition to democracy and free markets, political corruption, inefficient state-owned enterprises, and a high public debt burden are serious issues. Highlighting recent political scandals, he argued that Mongolia’s biggest problem is campaign finance corruption and the spread of political clientelism. Regarding the economy, he explained that subsidized state-owned corporations remain prominent and that many price controls remain in place. He also expressed concern at the large number of Mongolians who choose to work overseas and argued that the Mongolian government could reduce the emigration strain by allowing dual citizenship. Mr. Jargalsaikhan then fielded questions from the audience regarding Mongolia’s GDP growth and dependence on Russian energy, among other topics.