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Author Archives: JDierkes
Back in the UB
By Julian Dierkes It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to post about my first impressions back in Ulaanbaatar after an absence. This time, my absence was not very long, i.e. from the presidential election in late June … Continue reading
Mongolia Buffeted by Global Winds
[For another version of observations of the current situation in Mongolia, see my piece in the Wall Street Journal Asia on September 13. This piece has been posted on the World Economic Forum blog as well.] For most of the … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy, Development, Foreign Investment, Governance, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy
Tagged Julian Dierkes
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UBC Job in Asian Public Policy
The Institute of Asian Research is hiring an assistant professor (tenure-track) in Asian Public Policy. I would personally be thrilled to see applications of junior scholars who focus some or all of their work on Mongolia. Here’s the job ad: … Continue reading
Guest Post: Documenting Buddhist Past
There has been a very worthwhile project aiming to document Mongolia’s Buddhist history going on for some years. This is an effort led by scholars, but with a very impressive cultural footprint and organized under the auspices of the competent … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, History, Research on Mongolia
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Guest Post: Christopher Carter on the Role of Bag Governors
This post features a new community character from Bag 4, Abu the bag governor. This summer alongside this community I experimented with a participatory planning tool that I hope to refine over the upcoming years at UBC. Participating clans were … Continue reading
Posted in Christopher Carter, Countryside, Kazakhs, Nomadism, Research on Mongolia, Water
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Does Presidential Pardon Bring End to Enkhbayar Saga?
Mongolian President Ts Elbegdorj was narrowly re-elected to a second term in the June 26 presidential election. He is embarking on this second and final term with expectations of personnel continuity and policy stability. He is setting out on this … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption, Democratic Party, Law, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Politics, Populism
Tagged Julian Dierkes
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Guest Post: Christopher Carter on Kazakh Mongolians in Far West
For the past month I have been living at the mountain pastures of the fourth bag of Saqai Soum in Olgii province Mongolia working on researching participatory planning and water resource development. Olgii province is home to Mongolia’s largest ethnicity, a Kazakh … Continue reading
Posted in Christopher Carter, Countryside, Grassland, Kazakhs, Nomadism, Water
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Failed States Index
The Fund for Peace released its 2013 Failed States Index (FSI) earlier in July 2013 and I’ve included the ranking in our Mongolia Scorecard. Methodology The Failed States Index aims to identify ” pressures [that] are pushing a state towards the brink of … Continue reading
Seeking Research Collaborator on Education
Looking for a Research Collaborator for Small Project on Private Education in Ulaanbaatar I have heard some reports about the mushrooming of private primary and secondary schools in Ulaanbaatar. These schools seem to fall on a very wide spectrum from … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Primary and Secondary Education, Research on Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Tagged Julian Dierkes
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Vote Shares by Regions
Among the data that the General Election Commission has made available quickly is the breakdown by Aimag and Ulaanbaatar ridings. It’s quite clear from a glance that Elbegdorj has won this election on the strength of his showing in the … Continue reading
Digesting the Results of the Presidential Election
I will be updating, changing, adding to and deleting from this post continuously this morning (June 27 in Ulaanbaatar) as I sort my thoughts and understanding of the result of the presidential election. At 8:30h it seems like the GEC … Continue reading
Investigating the Rural Vote
Over the past weekend, I was very fortunate to have the chance to travel to Khentii Aimag and to speak to a number of locals. I was particularly interested in how the campaign messages of the three candidates played in … Continue reading
Presidential Q&A
The general view in Ulaanbaatar was that Bat-Erdene was trailing Elbegdorj significantly in voter support in some part because of his lack of political experience, and profile and the fact that he doesn’t “look presidential”. This latter judgement is not … Continue reading
Bits and Pieces about the Campaign and Upcoming Vote
Three days remain in the presidential campaign, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In central Ulaanbaatar, there still is very little of a sense of excitement or at least public drama around the campaign. Certainly, residents of the downtown core are a … Continue reading
Some Perspectives on Election Campaign from Parties and Observers
In meetings with party officials from the DP and MPP, I heard – not surprisingly – very different perspectives on the election. On the one hand, voters were described as interested in specifics of platform proposals, on the other hand … Continue reading