Category Archives: Author

Guest Post: “Mongolian tie demokratiaan” Photo Exhibition in Helsinki

Posted on July 16, 2025 by JDierkes

By Mend-Amar Baigalmaa The photo and poster exhibition “Mongolian Tie to Democracy” by Finnish journalist and photographer Irja Halász opened on May 31, 2025, at the Sofia Cultural Centre Gallery in Helsinki, Finland.   Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Democracy, History, Mend-Amar Baigalmaa | 1 Comment

Guest Post: May Day by Natsagdorj

Posted on May 5, 2025 by JDierkes

By Khishigtugs Amarbayasgalan Natsagdorj Dashdorj (1906–1937) is widely regarded as the founder of modern Mongolian literature. Natsagdorj was part of the first generation of Mongolian students sent abroad after the revolution (1921 revolution in Mongolia), and among the earliest to … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Khishigtugs Amarbayasgalan, Literature, Reflection | 3 Comments

Minegolia: A Curse or a Complex Reality?

Posted on April 15, 2025 by bulgan batdorj

By Bulgan Batdorj  Note: This is a post I originally drafted in 2019 but never posted. I hesitated because my thinking was still evolving. Since then, my understanding has evolved, but I believe it is valuable to share this early … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulgan Batdorj, Mining, Research on Mongolia, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Centre for Law and Democracy’s Analysis of the Draft Law on Freedom of the Media

Posted on April 1, 2025 by JDierkes

By Toby Mendel Background Mongolia adopted its Law on Media Freedom in 1998 (1998 Media Law) as a statement of its commitment to media freedom. The 1998 Media Law, however, has only four short articles which set out the following … Continue reading →

Posted in Media and Press, Toby Mendel | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Noorog.mn, Youth Media Staff Detained for Unclear Charges

Posted on March 20, 2025 by JDierkes

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar and Unumunkh Jargalsaikhan You may remember me from my previous two-part blog post about the proposed Press Freedom bill (Draft Bill | Analysis and Outlook). This time, I am addressing you with a yet gloomier picture on … Continue reading →

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press, Unumunkh Jargalsaikhan, Youth | Leave a comment

Guest Post: More to Know about the Proposed Press Freedom Bill – Analysis and Outlook

Posted on March 11, 2025 by JDierkes

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar I have recently written about the context and content of the proposed new Press Freedom law. Here, I will add some analyses and a sense of the draft’s chance of adoption. Why are we concerned? “The draft … Continue reading →

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press | 2 Comments

Guest Post: Reflections of my visit: Change, Challenges and Resilience

Posted on March 10, 2025 by bulgan batdorj

By Bolormaa Purevjav  This is a part of our series on “Change in the countryside.” After living in Vancouver, Canada, for six years while completing my PhD, I returned to Mongolia in the summer of 2024. This visit was an … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Bolormaa Purevjav, Change, Countryside, Demography, Economics, Environment, Herding, Inequality, Pop Culture, Public Opinion, Reflection, Society and Culture, Younger Mongolians, Youth | 1 Comment

Guest Post: What you should know about Mongolia’s proposed Press Freedom bill

Posted on February 25, 2025 by JDierkes

By Dulamkhorloo Baatar After 27 years, Mongolia takes another stab at passing a new Press Freedom Bill. The bill was submitted to Parliament for discussion in late January 2025 and is expected to be discussed as soon as the Parliamentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Media and Press | 3 Comments

Khurelsukh at UN General Assembly

Posted on October 21, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes, Alexander Morrow and Anshika Srivastava In 2021, Pres. U Khurelsukh spoke at the UN General Assembly for the first time as president. He has returned every year since then. Unlike his immediate predecessor, Kh Battulga, he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alexander Morrow, Anshika Srivastava, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Peacekeeping, UN | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolian Hoops Dreams — Creation of Soft Power Through Basketball

Posted on September 17, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland Basketball was introduced to Mongolia in the 1960s by the Russians and Chinese.  More recently, basketball has become Mongolia’s most popular sport, but Mongolians’ associations are primarily American. This fascination lives under the halo of the NBA … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Nuland, Curios, Pop Culture, Sports, United States | Leave a comment

Guest Comment: Mongolia’s Democratic Party Gambit into Government

Posted on August 20, 2024 by JDierkes

By Sugar Munkhtsooj The Mongolian parliamentary elections of 2024, the first since constitutional amendments increased the number of parliamentarians from 76 to 126, concluded in June with results that largely aligned with predictions from pundits and pollsters. As expected, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Government, Ikh Khural 2024, Party Politics, Politics, Sugar Munkhtsooj | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolian Participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Posted on August 13, 2024 by bulgan batdorj

By Zorig Bat-Erdene Mongolia completed its participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11, 2024. A total of 32 athletes competed in 9 different sports:   Sport Number of athletes Men Women Athletics 1 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Author, Corruption, Fashion, History, Olympics, Pop Culture, Public Opinion, Social Media, Society and Culture, Sports, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Guest Post: A free but not a Fair Election: It Was All About Money

Posted on August 12, 2024 by JDierkes

By Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag, Batkhishig Gankhuyag Mongolia recently conducted its tenth competitive election since 1990 in June 2024 (the first multi-party elections). In general, various electoral observation reports, including the one conducted by OSCE-ODIHR, suggest that the 2024 parliamentary election was … Continue reading →

Posted in Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag, Batkhishig Gankhuyag, Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Governance, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, National Coalition, Party Politics, Politics | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mutton and Mahogany: Mongolia’s 62-year Friendship with Laos Continues

Posted on July 25, 2024 by JDierkes

By Benjamin Nuland On June 11th 2024, Mongolia welcomed the Laotian president to Sukhbaatar Square for the first time since 2007. Thongloun Sisoulith’s arrival celebrated a 62-year long friendship between Laos and Mongolia and decades of goodwill. In the 1980s … Continue reading →

Posted in ASEAN, Benjamin Nuland, Diversification, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Laos, Mongolia and ..., Policy | Leave a comment

Observing Election Day: Erdenet City

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Marissa Smith

By Benjamin Nuland and Marissa J. Smith In the week leading up to election day on June 28, Julian and Benjamin observed 10 polling stations in constituency 4 (Khuvsgul, Bulgan, and Orkhon aimags), traveling from Murun to Bulgan to interview … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Nuland, Elections, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2024 | Tagged | Leave a comment