Category Archives: Politics

Interesting Constellations of Candidates

Posted on June 17, 2016 by JDierkes

There are always some interesting individuals, opposing races, and categories of candidates to be found among a number of candidates as large as 498 in this election. Wrestlers Bat-Erdene B (incumbent, MPP, Khentii, 40) Sumiyabazar D (incumbent, MPP, Songinokhairkhan 73) … Continue reading →

Posted in Ikh Khural 2016 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Notes on Parliamentary Election Candidates & Races

Posted on June 10, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The official campaign for the June 29 parliamentary election kicked off on June 11. The General Election Commission published the official list of candidates on June 7. I’ve been trying to sort through this list to take note … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Ikh Khural 2016, Party Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 3 Comments

Democracy in Decline?

Posted on June 2, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Dear Democracy, May you rest in peace. Sincerely, Mongolia. — Lkhagva Erdene (@Lkhagva) May 28, 2016 Is it time to worry seriously about the state of democracy in Mongolia? Mongolian Democracy in International Context Globally, democracy appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Party Politics, Politics, Security Apparatus | Tagged | 3 Comments

ICF Workshop “State’s Role in Large Resource Projects”

Posted on May 17, 2016 by JDierkes

Co-organized and co-hosted by International Cooperation Fund Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government of Mongolia Canadian International Resources and Development Institute Int’l Cooperation Fund(ICF) & @CIIEID_ICIIED co-organize workshop on “The State’s Role in Large Resource Projects”. pic.twitter.com/0nasxUohSb — MFA Mongolia (@MFA_Mongolia) … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, CIRDI, Erdenet, Governance, International Cooperation Fund, Mining, Mining Governance | Leave a comment

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

Posted on May 13, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on May 3, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on April 10, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on April 8, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on April 4, 2016 by D.Byambajav

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?

Posted on March 31, 2016 by JDierkes

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”

Posted on March 25, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on March 21, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on February 6, 2016 by mendee

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

Posted on February 4, 2016 by JDierkes

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

Posted on January 22, 2016 by mendee

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