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Recent Posts
- Newish Foreign Policy Vibes in Ulaanbaatar
- New to Ulaanbaatar April 2026
- Uchral Cabinet
- Is Mongolia not Backsliding?
- Podcast: The Great State Mural – Mongolia Portrayed
- Mining and Magnetism: The Repulsion Effect
- What Does the Rusal-Rio Case Actually Mean For Mongolia?
- Mongolia Focus in Review 2025
- Guest Post: Parliamentary Oyu Tolgoi Hearings: Key Themes and What We Often Misunderstand About Economic Benefit
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Author Archives: JDierkes
Newish Foreign Policy Vibes in Ulaanbaatar
By Julian Dierkes During my April 2026 visit to Mongolia I had a chance to have some discussions about Mongolian foreign policy and geopolitics, including discussions at the Institute of Strategic Studies and the Academy of Science’s Institute of International … Continue reading
Posted in China, Dalai Lama, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Russia, Tibet
Tagged Julian Dierkes
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New to Ulaanbaatar April 2026
By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: August 2011 | | October 2011 | June 2013 | October 2013 | May 2014 | November 2014| May 2015 | December 2015 | May 2016 … Continue reading
Uchral Cabinet
By Julian Dierkes and Marissa J. Smith As we have done for cabinets since 2016 (Erdenebat 2016 | Khurelsukh 2017 | Khurelsukh 2020 | Oyun-Erdene 2021 | Oyun-Erdene 2022 | Oyun-Erdene 2023 | Oyun-Erdene 2024 | Zandanshatar 2025), we’re listing cabinet … Continue reading
Posted in Government, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, National Coalition, Politics
Tagged Julian Dierkes; Marissa Smith
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Is Mongolia not Backsliding?
By Julian Dierkes [You might also be interested in The Great State Mural’s episode on global indices to complement the discussion below.] Last year, it was certainly noted in Mongolia that the country had fallen from the status of an … Continue reading
Podcast: The Great State Mural – Mongolia Portrayed
By Julian Dierkes Mongolia Focus has spawned an audio cousin and we’ve made it all the way past Episode 20 on a roughly bi-weekly schedule which prompts me to want to let readers know about this project. With Dolgion Aldar … Continue reading
Mongolia Focus in Review 2025
By Julian Dierkes It was a big year for the blog because we moved from the original home at the Univ of British Columbia to our own domain as I moved from UBC to the University of Mannheim. This move … Continue reading
Guest Post: Parliamentary Oyu Tolgoi Hearings: Key Themes and What We Often Misunderstand About Economic Benefit
By Zorig Bat-Erdene An ad hoc committee established by the Mongolian Parliament recently held hearings on the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) Investment Agreement, bringing together nearly 300 participants. Attendees included former presidents and prime ministers, current and former ministers and lawmakers, … Continue reading
Self-Censorship
By Julian Dierkes Seemingly, Mongolian democracy has been backsliding since 2019. Post by @jdierkes@sciences.social View on Mastodon Shifts in the V-Dem indices are not huge, but noticeable and consistent. Mongolia now ranks as an “electoral autocracy” not a … Continue reading
The Zandanshatar Crisis that Unhappened (And What Happens Next?)
By Julian Dierkes and Marissa J. Smith Just a month ago, we thought we might have to revise our post with short bios of the current cabinet members in PM Zandanshatar’s cabinet. That still might happen with ongoing speculation about … Continue reading
Khurelsukh and Pax Mongolica at the UN
By Julian Dierkes Pres. Khurelsukh’s speeches at the UN General Assembly have caught my eyes in recent years, in part because the UN has been the site of an at least symbolic battle between Russian President V Putin and the … Continue reading
Origins of Wooden Fences
By Julian Dierkes Sometimes first-time visitors to Mongolia ask questions that I have also been asking myself, so leave me stumped and wondering. One of these questions is the origin of the khashaa (Хашаа), or fence that demarcates a family’s property … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Curios, Dissertation Ideas, Settlements, Ulaanbaatar
Tagged Julian Dierkes
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Guest Post: Back in Mongolia: Buzz, Ambition, and a Bold Vision at MEF 2025
By Zolzaya Jargalsaikhan After two years abroad, my family and I have safely returned to Mongolia — just in time for the Mongolia Economic Forum (MEF) 2025. The energy was palpable — not only from reconnecting with family and friends, … Continue reading
Guest Post: Visit to Mongolia by Japanese Emperor and Empress and Public Response in Japan
By Kunio Minato The first imperial visit to Mongolia by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako was undoubtedly a landmark event in Japan–Mongolia relations. The Japanese media covered the imperial couple’s words and deeds every day in newspapers, on TV and … Continue reading
Posted in History, Japan, Mongolia and ...
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Guest Post: “Mongolian tie demokratiaan” Photo Exhibition in Helsinki
By Mend-Amar Baigalmaa The photo and poster exhibition “Mongolian Tie to Democracy” by Finnish journalist and photographer Irja Halász opened on May 31, 2025, at the Sofia Cultural Centre Gallery in Helsinki, Finland. Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Democracy, History, Mend-Amar Baigalmaa
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Acting Powerful
By Julian Dierkes I recently engaged in some political dreaming with very good Mongolian friends. The prompt was, “If you were Grand Khaan/Prime Minister, what would be some changes you would make right away?”. We quickly abanonded the Grand Khaan … Continue reading