Organizer: Christopher Atwood, Indiana University
Chair: Elizabeth Endicott-West, Middlebury College
Discussant: Melvyn C. Goldstein, Case Western Reserve University
During the years of the Cold War, the intense rivalry between the one-party socialism and capitalist democracy centered on the competing claims of equality of condition in a planned society versus equality of opportunity within a system of unequal rewards. With the fall of the Soviet block, equal opportunity in free competition seemed to have finally triumphed over equality of condition.
As the only Communist state in Asia to undertake the transition to a free market democracy, journalists have observed tremendous social upheaval in Mongolia. A new class of entrepreneurs has emerged as trend-setters, seemingly out of nowhere, while pensioners have suffered real privation due to inflation and budget constraints. Relations of gender and ethnicity, previously tightly structured by the party's control of public discourse and promotion, have turned into areas of competition and insidious public comparison, often acrimonious.
The papers in this panel address the issue of equality, both of condition and opportunity, in Mongolia's transition from Communism to Democracy. Sherylyn Briller shows how vulnerable people in rural Mongolia (less competent herders, the elderly, and the disabled) are coping with these massive changes in social policy. Christopher Kaplonski looks at the issue of gender relations with a focus on the strategic area of politics, and finds ironies that undermine both socialist and market assertions of equality. Finally, Alicia Campi reports on the new entrepreneurs in Mongolia, suggesting that their emergence, far from marking a triumph of opportunity, is due to their intimate affiliation with the old socialist ruling class.
For Richer or For Poorer: The Impact of Social and Economic Transition in a Rural
Mongolian City
Sherylyn H. Briller, Case Western Reserve University
To date, little research has examined how the national transformation from a socialist command economy to a democratic market economy has impacted rural Mongolians. A key issue in the rural sector is examining how the more vulnerable sectors of the population such as the frail or less competent herders, the elderly and the disabled are coping with massive changes in social and economic organization.
To specifically address this, I conducted an ethnographic study in 1995-96 of 104 old age pensioners and their families in Möst district, Hovd Province in Western Mongolia. Findings from this study indicate that the economic situation of rural elderly herders who possess large numbers of animals remains stable but that those with few or no animals are rapidly becoming impoverished. As a result, vulnerable elderly with few resources are becoming much more dependent on their children for economic support. In many cases however, the unstable economic situation of the younger generation is impacting their ability to provide this needed old age support. Several examples will be presented here illustrating the increasing economic differentiation between families in this rural community.
Contemporary national and local poverty alleviation strategies will be summarized here. I will conclude by highlighting the need for sound public policy interventions addressing the problems faced by the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the rural Mongolian population today.
Women and National Politics in Post-Socialist Mongolia
Christopher Kaplonski, University of Cambridge
One of the basic assertions of socialist superiority over capitalism was the achievement of gender equality. In reality, while women were relatively well represented in the labor force they remained under-represented in the various guises of the political arena in Mongolia under socialist rule. Further, this "equality" did not penetrate the domestic sphere.
With the collapse of socialism and the shift to a democratic government in the early 1990s, the role of women in politics became an increasingly visible issue in Mongolia. Attempts have been made to increase women's involvement and power at multiple levels of the political process, both by Mongolians themselves and foreign organizations. These attempts are linked to the redefining of roles and expectations that had existed under "socialist equality."
Given the importance and visibility of this issue in Mongolia, it is surprising that little literature exists on it in the West. This paper therefore offers a first step to understanding the changing role of women in politics. I offer an overview of the post-socialist (since 1989) situation in Mongolia, examining some of the projects and processes taking place. I also address issues of representation in these projects, focusing on conceptions of "Mongolness" and the concomitant construction of gender roles.
Who Are Mongolia's Entrepreneurs? What Determines Success in a Post-Socialist
Economy
Alicia Campi, U.S.-Mongolia Advisory Group
This paper will analyze Mongolia's move from a socialist command economy to a free market economy since 1990 and what social groups have in reality benefited from this transition. Rhetoric, associated with both the foreign aid community and with local Mongolian understanding of what "free market" is supposed to do, holds out entrepreneurship as a positive value that will expand both freedom and social mobility. In the rush to track macroeconomic indicators however, little real assessment of how new enterprises in Mongolia actually succeed and who runs them has been done. Here, emphasis will be placed on examining the type and makeup of successful business enterprises and how and why government organizations assist them. The role of international financial institutions and donor aid must also be noted.
I argue that the success of a Mongolian business entity is directly tied to having personnel with foreign education, language skills, and connection--all legacies of their own or their parents' political positions during the socialist era. The paper concludes by suggesting how and when true equal opportunity for all strata of society might appear in the new Mongolian business world.