Author Archives: JDierkes

About JDierkes

Research on Mongolia for over 20 years, particular focus on mining policy and democratization. Princeton-trained sociologist. Dean, School of Social Sciences, Univ of Mannheim.

PM Zandanshatar

By Julian Dierkes So, Mongolia has a new prime minister. Parliament elected G Zandanshatar in the early hours of June 13. Initial reporting indicated that only 108 members were present, but it seems to have turned out that 108 members … Continue reading

Posted in Government, Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

End of the Oyun-Erdene Era?

By Julian Dierkes Of course, the one time, my frustration at endless speculation about political machinations and alliances actually gets to me, something happens, namely Prime Minister L Oyun-Erdene’s era appears to be ending. In the early morning of June … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Government Confusion

By Julian Dierkes A bit of confusion in Mongolia at the moment regarding the state of the coalition government and the fate of L Oyun-Erdene as prime minister. Last week, it was reported that a) the DP had been removed … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Government, Media and Press, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Change in the Countryside 2025

By Julian Dierkes For some years, I have now traced visible changes in Ulaanbaatar on my periodic visits. I’ve kept a similar list for countryside changes, somewhat less regular as extended visits to the countryside don’t come nearly often enough … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Countryside, Curios | Tagged | 1 Comment

Assessing Academic Freedom Index Score

By Julian Dierkes I recently posted my description of what the Academic Freedom Index measures and how Mongolia has been scored. Is Mongolia’s decline on Academic Freedom Index real? Or, what is this decline measuring? How are we to understand … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Global Indices, Higher Education, Research on Mongolia, Social Change | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia Focus WhatsApp Channel

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Posted in Reflection | Leave a comment

Guest Post: May Day by Natsagdorj

By Khishigtugs Amarbayasgalan Natsagdorj Dashdorj (1906–1937) is widely regarded as the founder of modern Mongolian literature. Natsagdorj was part of the first generation of Mongolian students sent abroad after the revolution (1921 revolution in Mongolia), and among the earliest to … Continue reading

Posted in Germany, History, Khishigtugs Amarbayasgalan, Literature, Reflection | 3 Comments

New to Ulaanbaatar April 2025

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: June-July 2024 | August 2023 | May 2023 | November 2022 | August 2022 | December 2019 | June 2019 | April 2019 | December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June … Continue reading

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

Plus ça change

By Julian Dierkes “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” = The more things change, the more they stay the same. I feel like I experience perpetual déjà vu (yes, this is turning into a French post) in discussing … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Governance, Government, Politics, Reflection | Tagged | 6 Comments

Academic Freedom Index

By Julian Dierkes For some years, I have been collecting Mongolia’s score and rank on various global indices. I have also occasionally commented on some of these indices. Here, I want to focus on the Academic Freedom Index. #Mongolia score … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Global Indices, Higher Education, Social Change | Tagged | 1 Comment

Guest Post: The Centre for Law and Democracy’s Analysis of the Draft Law on Freedom of the Media

By Toby Mendel Background Mongolia adopted its Law on Media Freedom in 1998 (1998 Media Law) as a statement of its commitment to media freedom. The 1998 Media Law, however, has only four short articles which set out the following … Continue reading

Posted in Media and Press, Toby Mendel | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Noorog.mn, Youth Media Staff Detained for Unclear Charges

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar and Unumunkh Jargalsaikhan You may remember me from my previous two-part blog post about the proposed Press Freedom bill (Draft Bill | Analysis and Outlook). This time, I am addressing you with a yet gloomier picture on … Continue reading

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press, Unumunkh Jargalsaikhan, Youth | Leave a comment

Guest Post: More to Know about the Proposed Press Freedom Bill – Analysis and Outlook

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar I have recently written about the context and content of the proposed new Press Freedom law. Here, I will add some analyses and a sense of the draft’s chance of adoption. Why are we concerned? “The draft … Continue reading

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press | 2 Comments

Guest Post: What you should know about Mongolia’s proposed Press Freedom bill

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar After 27 years, Mongolia takes another stab at passing a new Press Freedom Bill. The bill was submitted to Parliament for discussion in late January 2025 and is expected to be discussed as soon as the Parliamentary … Continue reading

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press | 3 Comments

Road Numbering

By Julian Dierkes I do really like my Mongolia countryside drives, whether I am along for the ride as a passenger or driving myself.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Julian Dierkes (@jbdierkes) One of … Continue reading

Posted in Countryside, Curios, Tourism, Transportation | Tagged | Leave a comment