Mongolia, South Korea, Rare-Earth Metals: “Bridging the Gap” or "Opening Pandora’s Box”?
Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun- Erdene’s visit to South Korea was marked by a number of important bilateral meetings and agreements. Especially notable among them is the memorandum of understanding signed on February 15, 2023, on the establishment of a network....
Britain to Mongolia: more than just a partner?
The United Kingdom is one of Mongolia’s main “third neighbors,” according to Mongolia’s current foreign policy concept. Neither its limited participation in global political and economic processes, nor its extreme geographical distance from Mongolia in comparison to Japan and South Korea, removes it from the list of Mongolia’s key “third neighbor” partners...
Mongolia against SCO membership: Saying “No” to Russia and China does not mean saying “Yes” to the West
In recent years, Mongolia’s repeated rejection of SCO membership has been used by a number of political experts as an argument in favor of that country’s priority orientation toward Western conceptual and organizational structures. Some analysts trace in such a decision of the Mongolian...
Western Missionaries in Mongolia: Faith Today, Socio-Political Agenda Tomorrow
In the 1990s, Mongolia created a new legal basis for the activities of foreign religious organizations: The law allowed free missionary and religious education activities of foreign organizations in the country. This step was not simply a decision to ensure genuine religious freedom for the citizens of a democratic state. It was a decision made...
A Parliamentary Republic in Mongolia: Why Russia isn’t Losing Anything
In the last months of 2022 and now in the first decades of 2023, political and civil society discourse in Mongolia has resumed with calls for constitutional change. Calls for legislative change became especially loud when the largest corruption scandal in the country’s recent history was uncovered, involving the theft of coal from...
The Priority of National Interests and Subtle Wording in Mongolia’s Official Position on the Ukrainian Crisis
The events in Ukraine in 2022, as well as the international and political fallout from them, necessitated Mongolia stating its position on the rapidly escalating crisis. The position of this country is sensitive for both Russia and the opposing forces in Ukraine. The opinion of Mongolians is particularly...
The Ukrainian crisis as perceived by Mongolian society
The significant changes seen in the Ukrainian crisis in 2022 are being actively discussed all over the world. Mongolia, a small but no less important neighbor of the Russian Federation, is no exception in this regard. The unique features of Mongolia’s historical development, its relations with Russia, its geographical location and the political and social...
Why are the values of “Western democracy” not supplanting pro-Russian sentiment in Mongolia?
Most Western countries consider Mongolia as a state that shares liberal-democratic political and ideological values. Mongolia ranks very high each year in various indices and rankings assessing the “democracy” and “freedom” of political regimes around the world. For example...
Mongolian authorities’ response to popular protests - a sign of a democratic crisis?
The recent protests in Mongolia very quickly attracted international attention, provoking lively discussions in the media and among commentators. During the large-scale demonstrations participants called for reform of the land rent system, greater transparency in economics statistics, and stricter measures against...