Yearly Archives: 2015

Graduates of Archery 100 in Mongolia

Posted on July 15, 2015 by mendee

Presenting graduates of the Archery 100 course in Mongolia Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 (source link) Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014 (source link) Embed from Getty Images Finnish President Tarja Halonen in 2011 (source link) The US Vice President … Continue reading →

Posted in Curios, Foreign Policy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Concrete Information on Corruption Paints Depressing Picture

Posted on July 1, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have written about corruption in various contexts in the past, most recently comparing the context of anti-corruption movements in India and Mongolia. In that post, I wrote that, “Petty corruption, systemic corruption, as well as grand … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Corruption in India: Lessons for Mongolia?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by JDierkes

A Conversation With Asim Arun One of the things I really like about the broad variety of disciplinary academic perspectives on Mongolia that I come in contact with (for example, a lot of the discussions at the recent Oxford Deserts … Continue reading →

Posted in Asim Arun, Corruption, Governance, India, Party Politics, Politics, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: National Labour Party – Хөдөлмөрийн Үндэсний Нам

Posted on June 10, 2015 by JDierkes

Bulgan Batdorj Since their first forum “National Development – Mongol Person” in February this year, the Development Hun (ХҮН/Hun = person, individual) club expressed its intent of becoming a political force, but had not settled on both type (political movement, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulgan Batdorj, Ikh Khural 2016, Party Politics, Politics, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Planning for 2016 УИХ Election

Posted on June 8, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In June 2016, Mongolians will be voting for a new parliament, the Улсын Их Хурал. Having served as an election observer in the last four national elections, I’m thinking about what activities could be undertaken now to prepare … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Party Politics | Tagged | 5 Comments

Policy Series: Mining Policy Failures (I)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

Mining policy is a good entry point to understand the overall policy-making processes of Mongolia. For one, mining has been one of the dominant economic sectors of Mongolia since the early 1900s.[1] Second, with extensive mining activities, mining has caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | 2 Comments

Policy Series: Typical Explanations for Policy Failures (II)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

The following explanations are commonly offered to explain these faulty mining policies. External Factors – In the absence of major international or regional armed conflicts and threats (conventional and non-conventional), politicians often highlight two external factors – the dynamics of … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | Leave a comment

Policy Series: A Typical Quick Solution – ‘Let’s Change It’ Syndrome (III)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

In retrospect, the most common methods for dealing with policy failures have been first to blame each other – politicians, parties, factions, and civil society activists in addition to geopolitics and global economy and second to change policies without asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Policy, Policy, Policy Series, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Policy Series: Are There Better Solutions? (IV)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

There are many possible ways to improve the quality of the policy-making institutions and process to improve mining policies and reduce failed policies. In fact, all politicians are well aware of these possible solutions, but they lack political will and … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Governance, Law, Policy, Policy Series, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Oyu Tolgoi on Track Again

Posted on May 19, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Last week, this is what I tweeted AUS article abt possible progress on #OyuTolgoi negotiatons (http://t.co/ARV73N2xS6) got me thinking abt analysis for day after agreement. — Julian Dierkes (@jdierkes) May 14, 2015 It looks like the day … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreign Investment, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Modigolia? Indian-Mongolian Relations post-PM Modi’s Trip to Ulaanbaatar

Posted on May 18, 2015 by miliate

In the wake of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Ulaanbaatar should we expect a radical revamping of Indian-Mongolian relations? Certainly, you don’t send in the big dogs unless you mean business, right? The Visit Modi visited Mongolia on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, India, International Relations, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | Leave a comment

Potential Northeast Asian Economic Corridors: Differing Chinese and Russian Priorities

Posted on May 8, 2015 by mendee

Sitting at a strategic crossroads between Europe and East Asia, Mongolia and North Korea are potential economic corridors for the wider Eurasian landmass. However, the realization of such corridors depends in large part on Chinese and Russian policy priorities, since … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Infrastructure, International Relations, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Russia, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar in 2015

Posted on May 7, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping a list of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: May 2014 | October 2013. I’ve copied the 2014 list here and am adding to it. New items since 2014 that I’m adding in italics. … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 3 Comments

FOC Comes to Mongolia

Posted on May 6, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Thanks to support from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, I was able to participate in the Freedom Online Coalition conference in Ulaanbaatar. Below, I want to highlight some of the discussions and presentations that were … Continue reading →

Posted in International Relations, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Mongolia and ..., Protest, Social Change, Social Issues, Social Media | Tagged | 2 Comments

Initial Observations in Ulaanbaatar, Again

Posted on May 2, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes On previous visits to Mongolia, I’ve taken notes on my initial quick observations about changes (and the lack thereof) in the Ulaanbaatar cityscape: November 2014 | May 2014 | November 2013. So, here it goes for May 2015. … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Social Change, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 6 Comments