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: Label of Erdenet ‘Nationalization’ Misleading

Posted on February 18, 2017 by JDierkes

By Marissa Smith Many Fear Mongolian Government Decision Heralds Another Privatization, Securing of the Status Quo Possible Last week during an extra session after the final day of its fall session, Mongolia’s Parliament voted that the state acquire the share … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Corruption, Erdenet, Marissa Smith, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy | 21 Comments

Drop in 2016 Corruption Perception Index Score Not Very Meaningful

Posted on January 25, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes As readers of the blog know, I have developed an interest on Mongolia’s position on various global rankings over the years. I have written about indices in methodological terms as well as to try to understand Mongolia’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Global Indices | Tagged | Leave a comment

International Relations in the Trump Era

Posted on January 19, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes As someone who thinks and writes about political risk regarding Mongolia, my focus is on domestic politics more than on international relations. Yet, with Donald Trump becoming U.S.-president, I have to add a fairly random element to … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Nationalism, North Korea, Presidential 2017, Russia, UN, United States | Tagged | 2 Comments

Thoughts and Comments on Organic Mongolia

Posted on January 11, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Early in December a bit of inspiration struck after I had read an ADB blog post and received a lot of responses to a tweet about that post. I wondered aloud whether it would be possible for … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Development, Environment, Grassland, Infrastructure, Policy, Public Policy, Regulation, Tourism | Tagged | 3 Comments

Blogging in 2016

Posted on January 4, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In the sixth calendar year of the existence of this blog, we were once again very happy to find a significant number of readers. In the course of the year, we wrote 68 new posts. Highlights of … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bullied by China over Visit by the Dalai Lama

Posted on December 21, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes [With thanks to Bulgan B for her help in understanding the interview and subsequent statements.] Late in November, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia. This was the first visit since 2011. Previous visits occurred in 2006 … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Dalai Lama, Foreign Policy, Religion | Tagged | 1 Comment

What if Mongolia Went All-Organic?

Posted on December 9, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I recently re-tweeted an ADB tweet about one of their blog posts, “The Foreseeable Future of Mongolia’s Agriculture” So important to note that “#Mongolia’s agriculture […] is organic, less polluted” thus huge, high-value potential in East Asia.#yummy … Continue reading →

Posted in Cashmere, Countryside, Development, Environment, Grassland, Infrastructure, Policy, Policy, Public Policy, Regulation, Tourism | Tagged | 4 Comments

Impacts of International Exchanges

Posted on December 4, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes [With thanks to CIRDI’s Marie-Luise Ermisch for contributing some of these.] During the first workshop we co-organized with the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ International Cooperation Fund, a number of impacts arose in an incidental manner, but … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Development, International Agreements, Kyrgyz Republic, Mining Governance | Tagged | Leave a comment

More on Re-Forming the DP

Posted on December 1, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I recently started thinking about the future of the DP within Mongolian democracy. In that first post, I wrote about DP party unity and a rejuvenation of DP leaders. I want to continue that consideration here, particularly … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Politics, Presidential 2017, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | Leave a comment

Kyrgyzstan: An Excursion

Posted on November 23, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have been traveling very regularly to Mongolia for over 10 years now. At the same time, I also spend a lot of time in Japan and in Europe, but it is easy to disassociate those latter … Continue reading →

Posted in Curios, Kyrgyz Republic | Tagged | Leave a comment

Early Presidential Election Speculation

Posted on November 18, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Nearly half a year after the parliamentary election, some discussions are turning to the presidential election in late June 2017. One of the aspects that will make this election interesting is that incumbent Pres. Elbegdorj has served … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Politics, Presidential 2017 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia – Rich in Governance Models

Posted on November 2, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes These days, the optimism regarding Mongolia’s development (economic, political, social) has turned into a disappointed consternation, “how could things go so wrong?”. Of course, the answer is mostly a domestic political one, but is also linked to … Continue reading →

Posted in Development, JD Mining Governance, Kyrgyz Republic, Mining Governance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bishkek ICF-CIRDI Workshop “Sound Management of Natural Resources: The State’s Role in the Resource Sector”

Posted on November 1, 2016 by JDierkes

Co-Organized, Funded, and Hosted by: International Cooperation Fund (ICF), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, Global Affairs Canada through the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute, Oslo Governance Centre for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights, and University of Central Asia … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Development, EITI, International Cooperation Fund, JD Mining Governance, Kyrgyz Republic, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Myanmar, Timor Leste | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Diplomat Podcast on Mongolia as Asia’s Hidden Geopolitical Player

Posted on October 14, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’m finally getting around to listening to The Diplomat’s podcast episode focused on Mongolia, “Northeast Asia’s Hidden Geopolitical Player“. Ankit Panda, one of the editors of The Diplomat, speaks to Peter Bittner who spent some time in … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Podcast, Social Media, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment

Speculation Surrounding Erdenet Sale

Posted on October 7, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes A Massive Privatization Coup Right Before an Election? It seemed odd that there was an announcement just before the June 29 election that the 49% portion of the longtime engine of Mongolian development, Erdenet mine, that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2016, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy | Tagged | 7 Comments