Category Archives: Politics

Changing of the DP Guard?

Posted on June 26, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes My sense is that there is not only significant frustration with the concrete implementation of democracy and its institutions in Mongolia, but more specifically with the two big political parties, MAHAH. One of the frustrations I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Democratic Party, Demography, Ikh Khural 2016, Politics, Social Issues, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Election Day

Posted on June 22, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The spectre of the July 1 2008 riots still loom over Mongolian elections. While full explanations never really emerged, it seems that those riots were a combination of some orchestration of protests, the latent potential for protests in … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Protest, Security Apparatus | Tagged | Leave a comment

Halfway through Сонгууль 2016 Campaign

Posted on June 20, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The election campaign for the State Great Khural election on June 29 is over halfway through its official 18-day period. While it has been an active campaign for the 498 candidates, and visibly so, it has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2016, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Social Media | Tagged | 2 Comments

Civil Society Perspective on State’s Role in Large Resource Projects

Posted on June 19, 2016 by JDierkes

By Bilguun N ICF Workshop “State’s Role in Large Resource Projects” – Perspectives of Civil Society When Ts Munkhbayar, was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, he was interviewed by Anthropologist Bumochir Dulam. He explained a truthful reason to come to the parliament house with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilguun Nandinbilig, CIRDI, Governance, Mining, Social Movements | Leave a comment

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