Category Archives: Governance

Constitutional Revision

Posted on November 9, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes It appears that all of a sudden the push for constitutional revision is alive and becoming more concrete with a multi-party submission of a draft in parliament that appears to have the support of 60% of MPs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aimags, Constitution, Democracy, Governance, International Relations, JD Democratization, Judiciary, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Contested Politics of the Presidential Veto

Posted on September 16, 2015 by mendee

In August,  parliament (State Ikh Khural) passed two separate amnesty bills: the first provides a one-time amnesty for all unregistered wealth from  criminal investigations and taxation. The other applies to first-time offenders, minors, women with small children and people who haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Judiciary, Law, Party Politics, Politics, Populism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Concrete Information on Corruption Paints Depressing Picture

Posted on July 1, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have written about corruption in various contexts in the past, most recently comparing the context of anti-corruption movements in India and Mongolia. In that post, I wrote that, “Petty corruption, systemic corruption, as well as grand … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Corruption in India: Lessons for Mongolia?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by JDierkes

A Conversation With Asim Arun One of the things I really like about the broad variety of disciplinary academic perspectives on Mongolia that I come in contact with (for example, a lot of the discussions at the recent Oxford Deserts … Continue reading →

Posted in Asim Arun, Corruption, Governance, India, Party Politics, Politics, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Policy Series: Mining Policy Failures (I)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

Mining policy is a good entry point to understand the overall policy-making processes of Mongolia. For one, mining has been one of the dominant economic sectors of Mongolia since the early 1900s.[1] Second, with extensive mining activities, mining has caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | 2 Comments

Policy Series: A Typical Quick Solution – ‘Let’s Change It’ Syndrome (III)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

In retrospect, the most common methods for dealing with policy failures have been first to blame each other – politicians, parties, factions, and civil society activists in addition to geopolitics and global economy and second to change policies without asking … Continue reading →

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Policy Series: Are There Better Solutions? (IV)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

There are many possible ways to improve the quality of the policy-making institutions and process to improve mining policies and reduce failed policies. In fact, all politicians are well aware of these possible solutions, but they lack political will and … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Governance, Law, Policy, Policy Series, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Feeling (Politically) Pessimistic for Coming Year

Posted on February 18, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes It is Tsagaan Sar, so happy new year to all of Mongolia and to Mongolians! Сар шинэдээ сайхан шинэлээрэй What will the year of the sheep bring? The sheep Gestalt (зурхай) seems to expect a windy Spring and … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, Economics, Elections, Foreign Investment, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, Inflation, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Populism, Security Apparatus | Tagged | 2 Comments

Poll Results – Direct and Indirect

Posted on February 4, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes PM Saikhanbileg has announced the results of the mega-projects vs austerity SMS poll. This announcement is important because we learn about this particular direct democracy initiative, but also because it included an announcement of proposals to revise … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Foreign Investment, Governance, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Politics, Public Opinion | Tagged | 2 Comments

Digital Democracy: PM Saikhanbileg’s Policy Choice SMS Poll

Posted on January 30, 2015 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes This week Prime Minister Ch Saikhanbileg has posed a question to Mongolians on television and he is asking them to reply by SMS. There are examples of direct involvement by the electorate in political decisions, of course … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Governance, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Public Opinion, Social Media, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 9 Comments

A Personal Wishlist for the Saikhanbileg Government

Posted on December 2, 2014 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes As we’re anticipating a cabinet to be formed under PM Saikhabileg and it now seems likely that a grand coalition (DP + MPP) or a super coalition (DP + MPP + Justice Coalition + CWGP) or some … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Corruption, Democracy, Foreign Policy, Higher Education, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Politics, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Policy Series: Failure of Not Asking Hard Questions

Posted on December 1, 2014 by mendee

Government policies should provide solutions to our problems. They reduce uncertainty by building trust among all players.  But, in Mongolia’s case, policies have been fragile, unstable, and unpredictable.  Overall, our policies increase uncertainty and build mistrust among ourselves and our partners. What do … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Professional Minister vs. Professional Bureaucrats

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mendee

The political climate in Ulaanbaatar is now in favour of the pro-professional cabinet.  President, Chairman, members of parliament, and even well-known columnist Baabar advised Mr. New Prime Minister to recruit professionals outside from the parliament and to tame the parochial interests.  This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Party Politics, Politics, Public Service | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Little Correction to Mr. Enkhsaikhan’s Push for Constitutional Reform

Posted on November 21, 2014 by mendee

By MENDEE Jargalsaikhan Coinciding with the birth of New Prime Minister, Mr. Enkhsaikhan, former Prime Minister and one of the political heavyweights, made an interesting presentation at the research workshop on the “Constitutional Reform” – link. He was sharing his view … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Governance, Politics, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

In Ulaanbaatar with EITI Project Graduate Students

Posted on May 20, 2014 by JDierkes

Together with Dirk van Zyl, a colleague in UBC’s NBK Institute of Mining Engineering, I supervised an interdisciplinary group of graduate students in a project on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and focused especially on EITI reporting in Mongolia … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Mining | Tagged | Leave a comment