Category Archives: Politics

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

Rosneft Pipelines to and Through Mongolia

Posted on May 1, 2014 by mendee

Events in Ukraine create both uncertainties and opportunities in Ulaanbaatar. A changing balance of power in Europe and closer ties between two regional powers, Russia and China, certainly create new uncertainty for Mongolia. With their country’s “regionless” fate of living … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Infrastructure, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Russia, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

State-Sponsored Formalization of Household Herding in Rural Bayanhongor

Posted on April 29, 2014 by JDierkes

“A herder is master of 1000 professions.” President Elbegdorj, printed at the top of herder diplomas The Presence of the State in Rural Mongolia Over the course of my dissertation fieldwork in Mongolia, I spent a considerable amount of time … Continue reading →

Posted in Ariell Ahearn, Countryside, Education, Nomadism, Presidential 2013, Research on Mongolia | 1 Comment

Foreign Policy Implications of Mongolian Crony Democracy

Posted on April 21, 2014 by mendee

Though considered a healthy—albeit developing—democracy, Mongolia has in recent years become dominated by the competing interests of its political and business factions, whose collective actions undermine the country’s democratization trends as well as complicate Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy. For now, Mongolia … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Democracy, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Party Politics, Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Is the Altankhuyag Government Teetering?

Posted on April 15, 2014 by JDierkes

Prime Minister Altankhuyag has been leading the government for almost two years. To an outside observer like me, he has remained a puzzle in how he has been able to keep a coalition and a divided party united first for … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolia in the 2014 Social Progress Index

Posted on April 8, 2014 by JDierkes

[This post was written jointly by Undral Amarsaikhan and Julian Dierkes] On April 2, the Social Progressive Imperative released its 2014 Social Progress Index. For the first time, this included Mongolia. The Social Progressive Index is an index of indices … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Corruption, Development, Economics, Education, Global Indices, Governance, Nomadism, Policy, Policy, Primary and Secondary Education, Research on Mongolia, Social Change, Undral Amarsaikhan, Water | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolia-Australia Mining Partnership

Posted on March 20, 2014 by JDierkes

During FM Lu Bold’s visit to Australia, there has now been an announcement of a grand “Mining Partnership” between Mongolia and Australia to the tune of A$20m over 5 years. From Julie Bishop, Australian Foreign Minister’s website: Mongolian Foreign Minister … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Bilateral Aid, Development, Foreign Policy, Governance, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | Leave a comment

Здравствуйте!: Why It’s Not about -Stans

Posted on February 9, 2014 by miliate

By Brandon Miliate I recently came across and article in The Atlantic, which reported that Kazakhstani President  Nursultan Nazarbayev had suggested that perhaps the suffix –stan was responsible for Kazakhstan’s supposedly low global profile. He mentioned Mongolia, as a country … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Asia, Democracy, Governance, Inner Asia, International Relations, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and ..., Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Subscores: Freedom in the World Report

Posted on February 2, 2014 by JDierkes

When the 2014 Freedom in the World report was released on January 23, it came with the following map: At the time I tweeted, “That dot of hopeful green in a see of authoritarian purple is #Mongolia #FIW“. I also … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Visas, Medicine, Education: Feeling Chinese Soft Power in Mongolia

Posted on December 16, 2013 by mendee

China has been gradually increasing its soft power in neighbouring Mongolia, from offers of visa-free travel to access to its medical facilities, and most recently, growing educational opportunities in China for Mongolians. These policies have gone far in diminishing deep-seated … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Pacific Memo, China, International Relations, Publications | Tagged | 1 Comment

Results from the Corruption Perception Index 2013

Posted on December 2, 2013 by JDierkes

On Dec 3, Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perception Index. Previous Posts Last year, I wrote two blog posts that specifically focused on the CPI score for Mongolia: https://mongoliafocus.com/2012/corruption-transparency-international/ https://mongoliafocus.com/2012/more-on-corruption-in-mongolia-according-to-transparency-international-further-comparisons/ Last weekend, I wrote a post that looked ahead … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Media and Press, Policy, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Corruption in 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by JDierkes

The imminent release of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (Dec 3) is as good an occasion to think/write about corruption in Mongolia as any. Of course, it is especially important in the context of the CPI to emphasize that this … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Media and Press, Politics, Public Service, Social Issues | Tagged | 1 Comment

Guest Post: Mongolia in the OSCE – One Year On

Posted on November 21, 2013 by JDierkes

Paul Bryce Further Expansion of the OSCE In the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the membership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) appeared to have expanded as … Continue reading →

Posted in International Relations, Mongolia and ... | Leave a comment

Canadian State Visit

Posted on October 13, 2013 by JDierkes

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Mongolia. Earlier this year, this anniversary was marked by a visit of the chairman of the Ikh Khural, Z Enkhbold, to Canada. Now, it has been announced that the Canadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, International Relations, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | 2 Comments

Solutions to the Current Economic Crisis?

Posted on October 8, 2013 by JDierkes

Previously, I have written about economic and political aspects of the challenges currently facing Mongolia. Right now, the economic situation seems a bit like a “wicked problem” or a quagmire, and I see relatively little cause for short-term optimism, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Development, Economics, Foreign Investment, Governance, Inflation, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Policy, Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments