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.

Guest Post: Women’s Voter Turnout – Substantial Reverse Gender Gap

Posted on June 15, 2020 by JDierkes

By Camille Barras  Previous posts in Mongolia Focus have addressed the issue of women’s political representation, for example concerning the share of candidates in the upcoming elections. Women’s participation as voters is another important facet of women political empowerment. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Camille Barras, Demography, Elections, Gender, Ikh Khural 2016, Ikh Khural 2020, Presidential 2017 | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms: Economic Policy

Posted on June 13, 2020 by JDierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Parties’ platforms contain numerous promises to restore the economy and create new jobs by expanding the heavy industry sector. This year’s elections are taking place against the backdrop of the unforeseen economic crisis caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Banking, Batbold Otgonbayar, Business, Democratic Party, Diversification, Employment, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | Leave a comment

Zoom: Mongolia Campaign Update

Posted on June 12, 2020 by JDierkes

On June 12, roughly halfway through the parliamentary election campaign, we presented an update on the campaign via Zoom. In this event, we provided an update on how the campaign is unfolding under COVID-19 restrictions. We discussed the campaign platforms … Continue reading →

Posted in Ikh Khural 2020 | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms on Mining Policy

Posted on June 10, 2020 by JDierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Right now we are living interesting pre-election days in Mongolia. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, the election with the largest number of candidates in the history of parliamentary elections of Mongolia or 606 people is … Continue reading →

Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Batbold Otgonbayar, Democratic Party, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2020, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Sovereign Wealth Fund | Leave a comment

Election Predictions

Posted on June 9, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes No, please do not worry, I am not actually going to make any predictions. But here is why and what that means… Election Law The Election Law prohibits polling during the campaign. The wording has also been … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Party Politics, Politics, Public Opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

Parties and Candidate Demography Update

Posted on June 5, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The final list of 606 approved candidates was released at the beginning of the week and we, here at Mongolia Focus, are still processing the approval or lack thereof of certain candidates. The picture has changed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ikh Khural 2020, JD Democratization | Tagged | Leave a comment

Non-Partisan Public Endorsement of Candidates

Posted on June 3, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Two new actors announced themselves on the political scene last year, both non-partisan groupings seeking to support qualified candidates for public office: ЭЛЕКТОРАТ & Уухай. Elder Statesmen Elektorat (I somehow prefer the German-looking “k” ending over electorate) … Continue reading →

Posted in Ikh Khural 2020, Politics | Leave a comment

Zoom: Mongolia Election Preview, June 1

Posted on June 2, 2020 by JDierkes

On June 1, just before the official start of the election campaign in Mongolia, I presented a preview of the election in a Zoom session. Watch the recording of my presentation here: Errata Somehow, I skipped over my introduction slide. … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Public Opinion, Video | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Four Things We Learned from Young Voters’ Survey

Posted on June 1, 2020 by JDierkes

By BOLDSAIKHAN Sambuu Youth abstention is fast becoming a hot topic in Mongolia as the parliamentary elections come right around the corner. This is partly because, in this year’s elections, both major and new parties, such as the National Labor … Continue reading →

Posted in Boldsaikhan Sambuu, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, Ikh Khural 2020, Party Politics, Younger Mongolians, Youth | Leave a comment

Covering 2020 Election

Posted on May 24, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Mongolia Focus is facing a challenge! In all likelihood, due to COVID-19, none of our core team will be able to travel to Mongolia for the campaign, nor for the election itself. Help us, dear readers, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Author, City Planning, Democracy, eDemocracy, Elections, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2020, Media and Press, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics, Populism, Public Policy | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Dragged into a Power Struggle: Mongolia caught between the Dalai Lama and Beijing

Posted on May 18, 2020 by JDierkes

By Manlai N On January 28th 2020, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, India has announced that the long-awaited Tibetan Policy and Support Act was passed in the US House of Representatives. The bill was sponsored by Senator James … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, China, Dalai Lama, History, Manlai Nyamdorj, Religion, Social Issues, Society and Culture, Tibet | Leave a comment

Historical Memories: Contemporary Perspectives on Choibalsan

Posted on May 14, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes, Kenny Linden and Marissa Smith In a series of tweets Kenny Linden pointed to a puzzle that many of us who regularly interact with contemporary Mongolia, namely what would be termed Vergangenheitsbewältigung in German (coming to terms … Continue reading →

Posted in Dissertation Ideas, History, Kenneth Linden, Research on Mongolia, Social Issues | Tagged | 1 Comment

Confirmed Parties Participating in June 2020 Election

Posted on May 13, 2020 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The process of submitting campaign platforms, having those audited, amended, and finally approved by the General Election Committee was concluded on May 12. 15 parties and 4 coalitions have thus been confirmed to be participating in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics | Leave a comment

Regionalization, Internationalisms, and Mongolia’s Almost Century-Old Mining Sector

Posted on May 9, 2020 by JDierkes

By Marissa J. Smith In English-language scholarship, Mongolia’s political-economic system has often been characterized as democratic and market-driven. Though not untrue, this characterization casts Mongolia as a unified entity, which redirects attention from how Mongolia is also regionalized, with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Erdenet, Ethnic Groups, Geography, History, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Population, Publications, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Development Challenge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Mongolia

Posted on April 9, 2020 by JDierkes

By Naranzul B Changes in Mongolia’s political and economic systems have exacerbated income and social inequality. This, in turn, has excluded a large percentage of the population from benefiting from economic growth. One of the ways out of this situation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Naranzul Bayasgalan, Policy, Vocational | Leave a comment