ABSTRACT
Mongolia became the first nation in Asia, and the second in the world as a whole, to be ruled by a communist regime. However, as the rivalry between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union developed in the 1960s, the Mongolian People's Republic joined the Soviet bloc and declared its enmity with China. Mongolia is the only post-communist country outside Eastern Europe that scores high in terms of political rights, civil liberties, and press freedom. In January 1992, Mongolia's first democratically elected parliament adopted the constitution, which allows for a multiparty electoral process and a governmental system that is partly presidential and partly parliamentary. Arend Lijphart's methodology is often considered to be the most appropriate for understanding Mongolia's unique democracy. Political corruption is widely regarded as the most pervasive and serious obstacle to the consolidation of new democracies. Support for democratic politics goes beyond a cognitive or behavioural capacity to engage in a democratic system.
