ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Mongolia, the military may be a pivotal actor in ensuring a successful democratic transition. It assesses the impact that political developments in Mongolia's two neighbors— Russia and China—had on the status of the country's military and its security doctrine. The chapter suggests that, as comparatively unknown and exotic as the Mongolian case is, the linkage between democratic breakthrough and the military's response is similar to the better-documented cases of the Soviet successor states and Eastern Europe. Once the strategic rationale disappeared, the Kremlin had no need to maintain direct control over Mongolia's domestic and foreign policies, as had been the case since 1921. International factors played an indirect role in the 1993 elections. Mongolian foreign policy was also infected by the new thinking of the Gorbachev administration. The process of democratization within Mongolia has been largely unimpeded by military politics.
