Patronage Appointments in Mongolia

This paper examines political patronage in Mongolia. It argues that political patronage reaches the public sector. Weak control and accountability mechanisms in the civil service result in increased corruption, which impedes the country's development. One key feature of a democratic political system is public oversight. Exercising power without public oversight can lead to negative consequences. Further, we offer preliminary evidence from our study of political patronage in Mongolia to suggest that variations in patronage roles can be related to variations in the institutionalization of party systems and the nature of the links between political actors and civil servants.