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.

Flop 5 der mongolischen Politik

Posted on December 29, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Ich höre inzwischen sehr gerne Podcasts, sei es um die Bundesliga zu verfolgen, kanadische Nachrichten besser zu verstehen, oder auch Entwicklungen in Deutschland nicht ganz aus dem Auge zu verlieren. Einer meiner Lieblingspodcasts in diesem Zusammenhang ist … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Germany, History, Media and Press, Mining, Party Politics, Podcast, Politics, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Scary Part about ‘Our Common Geopolitical Language’

Posted on December 27, 2022 by JDierkes

By Peter W. Fong Way back in 2018, I led a first-ever scientific expedition from the headwaters of Mongolia’s Selenge River to Russia’s Lake Baikal, one of our planet’s great environmental treasures. In those halcyon days, our international team of … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Environmental Movements, International Relations, Renewables, River Movements, Russia, Water | Leave a comment

December 2022 Protests

Posted on December 20, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Once again, following protests in April 2022, primarily younger Mongolians took to Sukhbaatar Square in protest in early December. I initially wrote about these protests for The Diplomat, pointing out the simmering corruption worries connected to state-owned … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Corruption, Erdenes Mongol, JD Democratization, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest, Protest, Tavan Tolgoi, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

State-Socialist Legacies and Selective Perception of Propaganda

Posted on December 1, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Every so often, my conversations, especially on visits to Mongolia which are so valuable for my thinking, touch on bigger issues that are challenging to frame as a blog post. This is one of those attempts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Dissertation Ideas, Gender, History, JD Democratization, Policy, Politics, Protest, Protest, Reflection, Social Issues, Social Movements, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Can Mongolia Resist Russia?

Posted on November 21, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine were a major topic of conversation during my visit to Mongolia this August. I had arrived with a sense of frustration that the MPP government wouldn’t publicly take a stance … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar November 2022

Posted on November 16, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: August 2022 | 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 … Continue reading →

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

Atmospheric Observations

Posted on November 1, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes My August trip to Mongolia was the first visit after over 30 months of global COVID19 restrictions. I have already taken note of some of the visual and consumer changes I observed in Ulaanbaatar. But, I also … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Demography, Reflection, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: One Day in Mongolian Twitter – Inner Mongolian Girl’s Accidental Social Media Stir

Posted on October 24, 2022 by JDierkes

By Manlai Nyamdorj On October 14th I wrote a short thread on the surge of Inner Mongolian Twitter accounts in the Mongolian Twitter space. A short thread????on Chinese social media intrusion on Mongolian twittersphere. This past July I noticed and … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Inner Mongolia, Manlai Nyamdorj, Mongolians in China, Social Media | Leave a comment

Challenging Supermajority

Posted on October 17, 2022 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Following the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential election, there were some fears that the MPP’s electoral wins and occupation of all three highest offices would lead to some kind of one-party domination. Most readers will recall then-Pres … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

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