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: Mongolia’s New PM-In-Waiting: Who Is D Amarbayasgalan?

Posted on September 22, 2022 by JDierkes

By Amar Adiya New Cabinet Chief Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan is increasingly emerging to be a likely successor to Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene in the future, i.e., post-2024 election. As new ministers are settling into their roles following August cabinet reshuffle, Amarbayasgalan … Continue reading →

Posted in Amar Adiya, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Sukhgerel Dugersuren: Criminal or Marmite Character?

Posted on September 12, 2022 by JDierkes

By Jennifer Lander Contrary to popular opinion and the slogans of international organisations, democracy and economic development do not always make for easy bedfellows. One of the basic elements of democracy has to do with the function of law under … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental Movements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Politics, Protest, Protest, Renewables, Security Apparatus | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar August 2022

Posted on August 19, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: December 2019 | June 2019 | April 2019 | December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013 | October 2011 | August 2011. More informal versions of these … Continue reading →

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

Guest Post: Naadam 2022 – International Participants and Backroom Deals

Posted on July 28, 2022 by JDierkes

By Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene What is Naadam? “Naadam” is a traditional festival that is the most widely celebrated and watched in Mongolia and elsewhere among Mongolians, Inner Mongolians and Tuva Republic. The Naadam festival is celebrated during midsummer and officially takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Buryatia, Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Kalmykia, Mongolian Diaspora, Naadam, Sports, Tuva, Wrestling, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolia’s International Conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”

Posted on July 19, 2022 by JDierkes

By Katharina P. Coleman On 16-18 June 2022, Mongolia welcomed the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, other UN officials and representatives from over thirty countries to a three-day conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”. The conference allowed … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Gender, International Relations, Katharina Coleman, Mongolia and ..., Peacekeeping, UN | Leave a comment

Russophiles, Russophones and Russophobes

Posted on July 8, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Reactions to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have been quite visible on Twitter. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s visit to Ulaanbaatar on July 5 have brought many of these reactions to the fore again. Here’s a prominent and strongly-worded … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Protest, Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Constitutional Amendments, Again?

Posted on July 4, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes It appears that constitutional amendments are in the air again and some claim that these are likely to be addressed in a special parliamentary session in August or early on in the Fall session. These amendments would … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Governance, JD Democratization, Law, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Letting the Sun Shine on Garbage?

Posted on June 28, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In thinking about economic diversification, I have previously dreamed about a long-term strategic approach for Mongolia. Such an approach would involve a taking stock of Mongolia’s riches (other than mineral resources), and then invest into applied research … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Countryside, Curios, Diversification, Garbage | Tagged | Leave a comment

How Large Does Putin’s Russia Loom?

Posted on June 17, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Earlier in the year, in the context of the coverage of the events in Kazakhstan, I jotted down some notes, but more in terms of what I might do in a global news event involving Mongolia than … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Asia, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Understanding the Challenges of Water Development and Hydropower Plant Projects

Posted on June 6, 2022 by JDierkes

By BOLORMAA Purevjav A “National Program for renewable energy 2005-2020” of Mongolia was adopted in 2005 planning the development of feasibility studies for the construction of large hydropower plants on the Selenge, Eg and Orkhon rivers. The Government of Mongolia … Continue reading →

Posted in Bolormaa Purevjav, Environment, Environmental Movements, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Policy, Regulation, River Movements, Russia, Water | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Decoding an Asian Diaspora

Posted on March 21, 2022 by JDierkes

By Anoushka Chandarana, Anthony Coompson, Jemimah Ogundele, and Narayanan (Hari) GL Currently, there are around 34,000 Mongolian-origin people living in Canada and the U.S., around half of whom have lived there for over five years. Issues faced by this small, … Continue reading →

Posted in Anoushka Chandarana, Anthony Coompson, Canada, Demography, Diaspora, Jemimah Ogundele, Mongolia and ..., Mongolian Diaspora, Narayanan GL, United States | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Stepping Up Climate Action Represents a Clear Win for the Environment, People and the Economy

Posted on March 1, 2022 by JDierkes

By Annaka Peterson Building a green economy and investing in climate action has been on the agenda of the Government of Mongolia for some time, and it is an increasingly important part of the national development agenda. It goes without … Continue reading →

Posted in Annaka Peterson, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Movements | Leave a comment

Mongolia Focus 2021 in Review

Posted on January 16, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In summer of 2021, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our blog, we’re now into the 11th year of providing analyses of contemporary development, always non-partisan, always for free, rooted in our academic research on Mongolia. 2021 … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged | Leave a comment

Media Notes for Future Revolution

Posted on January 6, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Two important notes up front: I cast sideways glances at Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan more than other countries, for historical/cultural similarities, resource-based development trajectories and landlocked-next-to-Russia-and-China status shared with Mongolia. I have no particular expertise on Kazakhstan. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Asia, Democracy, Kazakhstan, Media and Press, Reflection, Social Media, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Want to Support our Analyses?

Posted on January 1, 2022 by JDierkes

We have been offering our analyses for free here since 2011. There are no plans to change that, although we have always offered consulting services to a variety of clients. If you are a regular reader or you think that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Leave a comment