In terms of the Covid tyranny laws and gov't dictates in place, probably about average. Technically, you're supposed to scan a QR code before going into certain businesses, wear a mask, and so on.
But in practice, people here tend to do what they want with minimal or no interference. The gov't & police here don't have enough respect from the people or the power to push things very far before the average Mongolian just tells them to go screw... at least now after experiencing the economic disasters that were the lockdowns. Even at the height of the lockdowns when we were told only to stay in our immediate neighborhoods, hardly anyone listened. Last spring when my wife & I were walking, we saw a policeman up ahead getting chewed out by an old man after telling him "he has to take his walks only next to his home". After the old man walked around the policeman and went on his way, then the policeman (probably trying to flex and recover his ego) then tried questioning me, asking for my passport and where we live. So then my wife & I also proceeded to chew him out, telling him we're just buying groceries and he needs to leave us the hell alone. Then we pushed past him as he mumbled something like "well, just try to stay closer to home, okay?". So yeah, a weak state CAN be a good thing... 😁
Even so, there still were big impact examples of gov't authoritarian mandates here like the border closures they implemented (which admittedly DID work to keep Covid out until a quarantine screw-up last November) and the lockdowns restricting travel in & out of the capital and between provinces at various times. But the economic pain and hit to the government's reputation (from the lockdowns, the failed quarantine, and uncontrolled spread of Covid) has forced them to open up for the most part. So in the net perspective, Mongolia is probably better than average, with most of the rural areas MUCH better than average. The virus showed them how little power & control they REALLY have, so they've been forced to take more than a few steps back and find a way to live with it instead of attempting to control it all.
In terms of the Covid tyranny laws and gov't dictates in place, probably about average. Technically, you're supposed to scan a QR code before going into certain businesses, wear a mask, and so on.
But in practice, people here tend to do what they want with minimal or no interference. The gov't & police here don't have enough respect from the people or the power to push things very far before the average Mongolian just tells them to go screw... at least now after experiencing the economic disasters that were the lockdowns. Even at the height of the lockdowns when we were told only to stay in our immediate neighborhoods, hardly anyone listened. Last spring when my wife & I were walking, we saw a policeman up ahead getting chewed out by an old man after telling him "he has to take his walks only next to his home". After the old man walked around the policeman and went on his way, then the policeman (probably trying to flex and recover his ego) then tried questioning me, asking for my passport and where we live. So then my wife & I also proceeded to chew him out, telling him we're just buying groceries and he needs to leave us the hell alone. Then we pushed past him as he mumbled something like "well, just try to stay closer to home, okay?". So yeah, a weak state CAN be a good thing... 😁
Even so, there still were big impact examples of gov't authoritarian mandates here like the border closures they implemented (which admittedly DID work to keep Covid out until a quarantine screw-up last November) and the lockdowns restricting travel in & out of the capital and between provinces at various times. But the economic pain and hit to the government's reputation (from the lockdowns, the failed quarantine, and uncontrolled spread of Covid) has forced them to open up for the most part. So in the net perspective, Mongolia is probably better than average, with most of the rural areas MUCH better than average. The virus showed them how little power & control they REALLY have, so they've been forced to take more than a few steps back and find a way to live with it instead of attempting to control it all.
Thanks for the detailed response. I agree that weak government and enforcement is a good thing now that governments have gone crazy.