In an East Asia worried about aging societies, the landlocked nation of Mongolia has the youngest population: About half its people are under 30 years old. Its Generation Z individuals (born between 1997 and 2012) are digital natives with a democratic bent. If they still live a traditional nomadic life, they might use a Prius or perhaps a drone to herd their livestock. On Tuesday, they showed the power of their numbers – and the power of their ideas – to shape honest governance.
After weeks of youth-led protests in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was forced to resign. Allegations that his son had given luxury gifts to his girlfriend – which triggered the street protests – led to a vote of no confidence in Parliament. In a country with immense mineral wealth but with about a third of its people living under the poverty line, even the appearance of corruption can evoke distrust – and awaken the ideals of Gen Z.
“Parliament showed they can put the public interest above party needs,” protester Erchissaran Ganbold, age 28, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “This demonstration is a strong reminder for politicians to be accountable and transparent in the future.”
While Mongolia’s parties now must regroup in anticipation of early elections, its Gen Z citizens have shown they are “willing and able to be a politically engaged, mature and active electorate,” Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva, a political analyst, told AFP.
What makes all this worth noting is that Mongolia, which is more than twice the size of Texas but has only 3.5 million people, is sandwiched between two autocratic giants, China and Russia. It is an island of democracy, struggling to shed an economic dependency on its overbearing neighbors while figuring out how to tap its resource riches for the greater good.
It is also a model for relying on the optimism of its youth to push back against a deep culture of corruption and other abuses of power. In addition to the recent protests, nearly 60,000 people signed a petition asking for Mr. Oyun-Erdene’s dismissal, citing his government’s lack of checks and balances as well as paltry transparency in budget spending.
In Mongolia, the honesty of young people has real power. Perhaps that helps explain why some of its less-democratic neighbors in Asia are in demographic decline.
