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.

Observing Election Day: Bulgan and Orkhon Aimags

Posted on August 5, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes During the five days leading up to the election we had driven through Tov, Arkhangai and Khuvsgul, visiting polling stations and campaign offices along the way. We have reflected on the election preparations we saw during these … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mutton and Mahogany: Mongolia’s 62-year Friendship with Laos Continues

Posted on July 25, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland On June 11th 2024, Mongolia welcomed the Laotian president to Sukhbaatar Square for the first time since 2007. Thongloun Sisoulith’s arrival celebrated a 62-year long friendship between Laos and Mongolia and decades of goodwill. In the 1980s … Continue reading →

Posted in ASEAN, Benjamin Nuland, Diversification, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Laos, Mongolia and ..., Policy | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar June-July 2024

Posted on July 22, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: August 2023 | May 2023 | November 2022 | August 2022 | December 2019 | June 2019 | April 2019 | December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May … Continue reading →

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

Double Deel Direct

Posted on July 18, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes As Bulgan B recently pointed out to me, every member of PM Oyun-Erdene’s new cabinet is an MP! Maybe not surprising for many parliamentary democracies, but this has been a lingering topic of discussion for many years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Government, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Thunder Dragon Arrives on Dragon Year: Mongolia and Bhutan Are Just Getting Started

Posted on July 10, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland If I could give an award for Mongolia’s ‘most underestimated relationship’, it must be that with Bhutan. Mongolia’s relationship with Democratic Bhutan began on January 18, 2012, when UN representatives of both nations mutually signed letters of … Continue reading →

Posted in ASEAN, Benjamin Nuland, Food, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Trade | Leave a comment

DP Results

Posted on July 8, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes To me, the success of the DP was one of the surprises of the June 28 election. To my surprise, the DP soared to claim one third of seats in #Mongolia parliament. mongoliafocus.com/202… #Сонгууль2024 #Сонгууль #MGLpoli [image … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2024, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

New City Park

Posted on July 4, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have mentioned the increase of green space several times in my notes about how Ulaanbaatar is changing. One big new development is the opening of the large park that is South of the Shangri-la Hotel and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Change, City Planning, Heritage, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Preparing an Election

Posted on July 2, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland and Julian Dierkes Leading up to the election on June 28th, 2024, we traveled as international election observers through Arkhangai, Khuvsgul, Bulgan and Orkhon aimags to observe the preparations for the election and the election campaign. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Nuland, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Voter Participation

Posted on June 29, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland Working as an official foreign observer team with Marissa Smith, I visited nine different polling stations across all six of the urban bags of Erdenet on election day (including polling stations at schools attended by Ukrainian President … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Nuland, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024 | Leave a comment

Quick Overview of Election Results

Posted on June 28, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes After this morning’s very hot takes, I want to offer a slightly expanded summary of the results of the parliamentary election. For those of you wanting to look at various aspects directly, the Ikon.mn website is my … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, National Coalition, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Election Hot Take: Change but not Quite

Posted on June 28, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Everything points to a reduced MPP majority with a surprisingly strong showing by the DP and no major surprises on individual candidates. Mongolian voters have thus opted for personnel change, but even that not quite. There were … Continue reading →

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

Speculation about Post-Election Scenarios

Posted on June 22, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Of course, there is lots of speculation about what election results next week might mean for the next four years. Coalitions? Long-time Mongolia watchers have heard this story before: rampant speculation around Ulaanbaatar that regardless of a … Continue reading →

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

Guest Post: Election Platforms on Health

Posted on June 21, 2024 by JDierkes

By Tsogtbaatar B Health stands among the most essential and common social goods in Mongolia. Yet, there is often displeasure among the Mongolian public for how health services are delivered and doubts where the overall sector’s policies are headed. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Health, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service, Tsogtbaatar Byambaa | Leave a comment

More Election Talk Around Town

Posted on June 20, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I was about to head to the countryside until election day with likely fewer opportunities to post but now, inclement weather has led to delay of that plan, so a quick set of notes before I leave … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Walk Down Campaign Street

Posted on June 16, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve noted before that campaign activities so far seem oddly subdued. That was based on my impression mostly of the urban core of Ulaanbaatar. So, for the weekend, I was able to venture a bit further afield … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2024 | Tagged | Leave a comment