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.

Presidential Election Timetable

Posted on April 29, 2013 by JDierkes

April 22: Announcement of election date (June 26, 2013) April 22: suspension of transfer of citizens’ residential registration May 3-12: nomination of candidates May 5-29: citizen notification May 13-17: submission of candidates’ documents May 18-20: decision on candidate registration May … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | 5 Comments

Mongolian Bling

Posted on April 28, 2013 by JDierkes

On April 27, the Projecting Change Film Festival screened Mongolian Bling, an award-winning documentary about Mongolian hip hop. Benj Binks, the Australian director of the film, happens to be in town for a couple more days, so I’ve invited him … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Pop Culture, Social Issues, Society and Culture, Ulaanbaatar, Youth | Tagged | Leave a comment

Community of Democracies

Posted on April 26, 2013 by JDierkes

Canadian engagement and Mongolian democracy on the eve of the ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies. Continue reading →

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Democracy, Development, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Presidential Election Observation

Posted on April 24, 2013 by JDierkes

I am very much hoping to be in Ulaanbaatar again to serve as an election observer for the presidential election, what would be my fourth national election in Mongolia. The election is scheduled for June 26 and President Elbegdorj will … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Seeking New Name for our Blog

Posted on April 23, 2013 by JDierkes

Searching for a new, more permanent name for our blog… Continue reading →

Posted in Research on Mongolia, Social Media | Tagged | 8 Comments

Guest Post: Musical Mobility and Continued Dialogues Between City and Countryside in Urtyn duu

Posted on April 19, 2013 by JDierkes

Sunmin Yoon’s guest post on Mongolian long-song. Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Pop Culture, Research on Mongolia, Society and Culture, Sunmin Yoon | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Pop Culture: Live from UB

Posted on April 2, 2013 by JDierkes

Lauren Knapp recently sent us this description of her project on contemporary Mongolian music: Documentary filmmaker, Lauren Knapp spent most of 2012 living in Ulaanbaatar attending just about every rock concert she could. She was researching and filming her forthcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Pop Culture, Social Media, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Z Enkhbold, Chairman, Great State Khural to Visit Vancouver

Posted on March 14, 2013 by JDierkes

During an official visit to Canada, H.E. Z Enkhbold, Chairman of the Mongolian Parliament, will address current developments in Mongolia. A panel discussion and Q&A will follow. Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Politics, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | 1 Comment

Book Chapter: Finding the Buddha Hidden Below the Sand

Posted on February 12, 2013 by JDierkes

Matthew King describes his on-going research on the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia to expand upon his chapter in “Change in Democratic Mongolia”. Continue reading →

Posted in Book: Change in Democratic Mongolia, Civil Society, Environmental Movements, Nationalism, Religion, Research on Mongolia, Social Movements, Society and Culture | Tagged | 1 Comment

Foreign Investment to Mongolia: Restrictions, China, and Comparisons with Canada II

Posted on February 1, 2013 by JDierkes

Is Mongolia’s Foreign Investment Law freezing FDI to that high-growth economy? Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Canada, Corruption, Economics, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Governance, International Relations, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Policy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolia Jumps to Higher Category in Freedom House Political Rights

Posted on January 16, 2013 by JDierkes

Mongolia’s political rights evaluated in top category by Freedom House. Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy, Education, Elections, Gender, Global Indices, Governance, Inequality, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Party Politics, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia Moves up in WorldBank Ease of Doing Business Ranking

Posted on January 9, 2013 by JDierkes

WorldBank moves Mongolia up in its “Ease of Doing Business” ranking. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Policy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolia Focus This Year

Posted on January 2, 2013 by JDierkes

A quick overview of the traffic to the Mongolia Today blog in 2012. Nearly 45,000 pages were viewed by over 16,000 unique visitors. Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection, Research on Mongolia, Social Media | Tagged | 2 Comments

Mongolia this Year

Posted on December 30, 2012 by JDierkes

It’s been quite a year for Mongolia in that the rest of the world paid some attention to Mongolia, at least in punctuated bursts… Mongolia in the News Rapid Growth The news item that probably attracted most international attention was … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2012, Local Elections 2012, Media and Press, Nationalism, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Publications, Research on Mongolia, Social Media | Tagged | 2 Comments

More on Corruption in Mongolia According to Transparency International: Further Comparisons

Posted on December 7, 2012 by JDierkes

Mongolia compared to other countries for the Corruption Perception Index in more ways. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Civil Society, Corruption, Foreign Investment, Global Indices, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | 1 Comment