Direct Democracy’s History and Trends in Mongolia

In this ADRN Direct Democracy Research group’s working paper, Tamir Chultemsuren, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia, finds that direct democracy in Mongolia is highly limited; mechanisms for direct voting are narrow in scope and unused. However, if one interprets “direct democracy” more broadly as direct public participation, Mongolia has implemented several direct democratic mechanisms, including deliberative polling, protections on the right to information, and pathways?like petitions?allowing citizens to voice concerns. Chultemsuren summarizes the history and shortcomings of these mechanisms, providing specific recommendations for their improvement. Finally, Chultemsuren introduces the ongoing debate over democracy and direct democracy in Mongolia. Though the environment in Mongolia is favorable to direct democracy, he argues, Mongolian democracy has regressed in recent years due in part to external factors, including COVID-19 and economic dependence on China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and declining support for democratic values from Western organizations.

<전문은 링크 참조>