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.

Mongolia in the 2014 Social Progress Index

Posted on April 8, 2014 by JDierkes

[This post was written jointly by Undral Amarsaikhan and Julian Dierkes] On April 2, the Social Progressive Imperative released its 2014 Social Progress Index. For the first time, this included Mongolia. The Social Progressive Index is an index of indices … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Corruption, Development, Economics, Education, Global Indices, Governance, Nomadism, Policy, Policy, Primary and Secondary Education, Research on Mongolia, Social Change, Undral Amarsaikhan, Water | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fellow Mongolia Focus Bloggers Marching Along in Academic Careers

Posted on April 7, 2014 by JDierkes

Congratulations to two Mongolia Focus grad student bloggers! MENDEE Jargalsaikhan passed his comprehensive examinations in Political Science at the Univ of British Columbia last week. The next step for him will be to write and defend a dissertation proposal to … Continue reading →

Posted in Brandon Miliate, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Reviews: Change in Democratic Mongolia

Posted on March 20, 2014 by JDierkes

The edited volume, Change in Democratic Mongolia: Social Relations, Health, Mobile Pastoralism, and Mining has been reviewed in the following academic publications: Morris Rossabi (2013) in Pacific Affairs 86 (3): 642-644. Jeremy Swift (2014) in Nomadic Peoples 18 (1): 152-155. Tjalling … Continue reading →

Posted in Book: Change in Democratic Mongolia, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia-Australia Mining Partnership

Posted on March 20, 2014 by JDierkes

During FM Lu Bold’s visit to Australia, there has now been an announcement of a grand “Mining Partnership” between Mongolia and Australia to the tune of A$20m over 5 years. From Julie Bishop, Australian Foreign Minister’s website: Mongolian Foreign Minister … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Bilateral Aid, Development, Foreign Policy, Governance, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | Leave a comment

Foreign Policy, Mining & Development

Posted on March 3, 2014 by JDierkes

I happened to catch a segment of CBC’s “The 180” radio show that included an interview with Erin O’Toole, the Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade. The segment focused on the “marriage” of foreign policy, development aid, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Development, Foreign Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

Subscores: Freedom in the World Report

Posted on February 2, 2014 by JDierkes

When the 2014 Freedom in the World report was released on January 23, it came with the following map: At the time I tweeted, “That dot of hopeful green in a see of authoritarian purple is #Mongolia #FIW“. I also … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

In Defence of Twitter Diplomacy

Posted on January 10, 2014 by JDierkes

On January 6, David Carment (Carleton Univ, @cdnfp) wrote a comment piece for The Embassy (a Canadian weekly and on-line paper focused on Canada’s international relations) that made a case for “Why Twitter Diplomacy Won’t Lead to Better Foreign Policy“. As I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Foreign Policy, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Symposium: Mongolian Responses to Globalization

Posted on January 4, 2014 by JDierkes

Department for Mongolian and Tibetan Studies Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn January 15-17, 2014 Organizer: Ines Stolpe The event is designed as a workshop in order to foster lively discussions on issues and topics concerning contemporary Mongolia – including their historical backgrounds. Our primary goal is … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences, Research on Mongolia | Leave a comment

My Sources on Developments in Mongolia

Posted on December 27, 2013 by JDierkes

I am sometimes asked how I keep up with developments in Mongolia from afar. I take that question as a compliment on the quality of the analysis we provide. Social Media Twitter has become an invaluable tool for keeping up … Continue reading →

Posted in Media and Press, Research on Mongolia, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Subscribing to Mongolia Focus Updates

Posted on December 14, 2013 by JDierkes

We’ve posted over 250 updates to this blog in the past 2 1/2 years. Any volunteers out there to edit a compilation? 😉 You’ve asked frequently about notifications for new posts recently. All along, I’ve tweeted about new posts @jdierkes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Research on Mongolia, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Results from the Corruption Perception Index 2013

Posted on December 2, 2013 by JDierkes

On Dec 3, Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perception Index. Previous Posts Last year, I wrote two blog posts that specifically focused on the CPI score for Mongolia: https://mongoliafocus.com/2012/corruption-transparency-international/ https://mongoliafocus.com/2012/more-on-corruption-in-mongolia-according-to-transparency-international-further-comparisons/ Last weekend, I wrote a post that looked ahead … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Media and Press, Policy, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Corruption in 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by JDierkes

The imminent release of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (Dec 3) is as good an occasion to think/write about corruption in Mongolia as any. Of course, it is especially important in the context of the CPI to emphasize that this … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Media and Press, Politics, Public Service, Social Issues | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolia – Myanmar Comparison

Posted on November 28, 2013 by JDierkes

We are currently enjoying a visit by Dr. Aung Tun Thet to our Institute of Asian Research. Dr. Thet has worked in the UN system for a long time and is now centrally involved in policy-making in Myanmar as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreign Investment, Mongolia and ..., Myanmar | Tagged | 2 Comments

Guest Post: Mongolia in the OSCE – One Year On

Posted on November 21, 2013 by JDierkes

Paul Bryce Further Expansion of the OSCE In the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the membership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) appeared to have expanded as … Continue reading →

Posted in International Relations, Mongolia and ... | Leave a comment

November 22 Event in Vancouver: Canada-Mongolia Relations

Posted on November 8, 2013 by JDierkes

Program on Inner Asia Institute of Asian Research UBC Friday, November 22, 2013 17:30-19h UBC Robson Square, Room C400 On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Canada-Mongolia Diplomatic Relations Canada-Mongolia Relations and Mongolian Foreign Policy Introduction Tobin ROBBINS Honorary … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Events, Mongolia and ..., Research on Mongolia, UBC Mongolia Lecture Series | Tagged | Leave a comment