Category Archives: Politics

With Changes to Electoral System, What Outlook for Mongolian Democracy?

By Julian Dierkes As parliament has accepted the high court rejection of proportional representation, some options remained, particular a postponing of the election or a reversion to the 2008 block-voting system. It now seems that a return to the 2004 … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, Party Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

National Survey of Mongolian Public Opinion

By Bulgan B and Julian Dierkes Just three weeks after Santmaral’s PolitBarometer came out, we have another indicator of Mongolian public opinion, courtesy of IRI with funding from the Canadian government, the “National Survey of Mongolian Public Opinion”. (Full Results … Continue reading

Posted in Aimags, Countryside, Democracy, Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2016, Media and Press, Mining Governance, Party Politics, Public Opinion, Research on Mongolia, Security Apparatus, Social Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Politbarometer April 2016

By Julian Dierkes With BULGAN B Santmaral Foundation’s Politbarometer (April 2016) remains the “go-to” political poll for Mongolia. This is because a) it is the only credible poll that has been conducted repeatedly, and b) because it is generally credible. … Continue reading

Posted in Bulgan Batdorj, Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Populism | Tagged | 2 Comments

Education about Extractives to Alleviate Poverty

By Julian Dierkes As we continue the “IMAGinE Mongolia” work on drafting a curriculum for providing basic and more advanced knowledge of the extractive sector, there are a number of challenges we’re running into in discussions with colleagues from the … Continue reading

Posted in Aimags, CIRDI, Countryside, Development, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Regulation, Water | Tagged | Leave a comment

The story of the discovery of Oyu Tolgoi

By BYAMBAJAV Dalaibuyan Introduction “Friedland came out his helicopter. He had a red jumper and running shoes on. He kissed the land and run straight to the Oyu Tolgoi discovery site.” A local elder told me this story. The date … Continue reading

Posted in Mining, Oyu Tolgoi | Tagged | 1 Comment

Resource Nationalism?

By Julian Dierkes One of the dominant foreign views of Mongolian politics is that they’re rife with “resource nationalism”. This perspective is reproduced in many conversations with people in the mining or financial industry and is often repeated by visiting … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Investment, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Nationalism, Policy, Politics, Populism, Social Movements | Tagged | 4 Comments

Berkeley Conference “Deadly Modernity”

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolia Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Institute of East Asian Studies hosted a conference entitled “Deadly Modernity: The Environmental Crisis Behind Mongolia’s Swift Development” March 10-12, 2016. I don’t think anyone was tweeting from the conference, but … Continue reading

Posted in Air Pollution, Conferences, Countryside, Environment, Environment, Environmental Movements, Grassland, Health, Mining, Nationalism, Policy, Politics, Research on Mongolia, River Movements, Social Movements, Water | Tagged | 1 Comment

Digital Diplomacy tied to ASEM

By Julian Dierkes Some weeks ago I wrote about the potential for a Mongolian digital diplomacy. That post generated a lot of interest (over 500 readers in less than 2 months). The tweet about this post was my most-viewed tweet … Continue reading

Posted in Digital Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mining Governance: Learning from Erdenet

By Mendee J As Mongolia struggles to make deals over giant mining projects like Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi, the country’s politicians, economists, mining professionals, and the public refer to Erdenet, the Mongolian-Russian joint copper and molybdenum factory, arguing whether or not lessons of  Erdenet would … Continue reading

Posted in CIRDI, Erdenet, Governance, Mining, Mining Governance | Tagged | 4 Comments

UBC Outreach Event: CIRDI’s IMAGinE Mongolia Activities

Thursday, February 4, 2016, 15-16:30h Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia 1855 West Mall, Room 120 Vancouver IMAGinE Mongolia Outreach You are invited to learn about the “Integrated Management and Governance in Extractives (IMAGinE) Mongolia” project from the … Continue reading

Posted in Aimags, Canada, CIRDI, Development, Environment, Governance, Inequality, Mining, Mining Governance, Research on Mongolia | 1 Comment

Mining Governance: Tavan Tolgoi

Tavan Tolgoi was a costly test for the Mongolia’s mining governance.  It tested the resilience of the revised mining governance under the 2006 Minerals Law, checked the unity of political elites, especially of two major parties, and examined the resolve … Continue reading

Posted in CIRDI, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Many Habits of Successful Mongolian Digital Diplomats

I wrote “The Way Forward for Canadian Digital Diplomacy” for Canada’s The Embassy on November 18, 2015. I followed this up with a list of more specific about steps that Global Affairs Canada might take in developing Twiplomacy if this direction … Continue reading

Posted in Digital Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Social Media | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mining Governance in Mongolia: A Messy Field

This is a brief, possibly too simple title of my field research in Mongolia.  The mining governance is an interesting subject for anyone studying Mongolian politics because it links Mongolia with the world, triggers rent-seeking competition among politicians, and upsets the local community, … Continue reading

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

Contract transparency in Mongolian Mining

 Unbundling contract transparency in the extractive industry: the case of Mongolia – Part I Contract transparency is crucial in ensuring deals in the extractive industry deliver better outcomes for the host nation and community. Civil society has long campaigned for … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, International Agreements, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Social Movements | Tagged | 3 Comments

Guest Post: Mongolia 2016 – Will there be light at the end of the tunnel?

By Stefan Hanselmann If the development of the last quarter of 2015 can serve as an indicator, we can eventually expect for next year some real light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, Mongolia had to learn the hard … Continue reading

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Business, Development, Diversification, Economics, Foreign Investment, Ikh Khural 2016, Inflation, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Politics, Stefan Hanselmann | Leave a comment