OT: In Danger of Becoming A Hostage in Domestic Politics, Again

Posted on September 29, 2011 by mendee

In 2005, Ivanhoe’s Robert Friedland’s infamous statement about the huge profits to be made in Mongolia at an investor conference in Florida delayed his deal with the Government of Mongolia over one of the biggest copper deposits in the world, Oyu Tolgoi (OT).

Like many other democracies, political parties and politicians attempt to build up their profiles for upcoming elections in Mongolia – they often attempt to distinguish themselves from the ruling government.  The next parliamentary election is scheduled in June, 2012.  Following this logic, 20 members of the Mongolian Parliament issued a petition to the Prime Minister to demand the implementation of the parliamentary resolution that allowed the government to conclude the stability agreement with Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto. [Unuudur Newspaper, September 28, 2011]

However, Rio Tinto’s country director and chief executive Cameron McRae’s statement in the Australian on September 12, 2011 provided a golden opportunity for Mongolian parliamentarians to rally publicly.  Although the piece was originally titled “Rio Tinto Warns Mongolian Politicians Not To Be Greedy,” it seems that the newspaper then reworded the title as “Warning on Mongolia’s Minerals Regimes” as the investors demanded corrections. The original title can be found in several Mongolian blogs, for example, Business Mongolia.

Following this news article, several parliamentarians representing the 20 Mongolian MPs, who issued a petition to the Prime Minister, made statements that Cameron McRae intervened in an internal matter (politics of sovereign nations, rights of Mongolian parliamentarians) and even threatened  OT to disclose any hidden deals with other Mongolian politicians.

In response to MPs call, A. Munkhbat, an OT Vice President, denied Mr. McRae’s statement and stressed that the journalist of the Australian acknowledged his mistake of disseminating wrong information at a press conference on September 29, 2011. [OT Media Release, September 29, 2011].

If one ignores this bickering, the Mongolian government is in negotiation with  Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe  following the petitions of the 20 parliamentarians and directives of the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs and Security of the Parliament, according to Minister of Mineral Resources, Zorigt [Press Release, Government of Mongolia, September 21, 2011].   And, Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto expressed their unwillingness to re-negotiate  the terms of the 2009 agreement.

Obviously, the Prime Minister would respond to the petition of the 20 members after their negotiation with the Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe.  But, Mongolian politicians and the media apparently over-reacted to a presumed news item in the Australian – which almost made  local politics global and OT a hostage of domestic politics as in the past – when Friedland’s casual comments in Florida resonated in Mongolian politics.

 

Posted in Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics | Tagged | 4 Comments

MPs Petition to Renegotiate OT Agreement

Posted on September 29, 2011 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes

Over the last several days (late Sept. 2011) there have been quite a number of articles in the press outside of Mongolia about a petition that was submitted to the Prime Minister of Mongolia by 20 MPs demanding a renegotiation of the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement and more specifically demanding that the government pursue a 50% ownership stake. Part of the quick press coverage may have been brought about by the swift reaction from Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe.

Below we provide a rough translation of the original petition (by Byambajav D, edited by J Dierkes) as found on the personal blog of MP N Batbayar “A Petition Relating to the Oyu Tolgoi Deposit Issue Forwarded to the Prime Minister” [Accessed on September 28, 2011] Any annotations that we’ve added appear in [square brackets].

To the Prime Minister of Mongolia S. Batbold

On the Enforcement of the Ikh Khural’s Decision

Based on article 41.1 of the Constitution of Mongolia, the undersigned members of parliament are sending you this petition.

According to the article 29.4 of the Mineral Law, the Ikh Khural provided the Government of Mongolia the authority to negotiate the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement and to conclude the agreement under the following terms and conditions:

  1. The minimum share of the state ownership of the Oyu Tolgoi deposit should be 34 percent;
  2. To permit the Government of Mongolia (S. Bayar [prime minister at the time of the conclusion of the agreement]) to conclude the the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement in accordance with Mongolian legislation and […] guidance and recommendations approved by the Ikh Khural [see original Ikh Khural resolution made available by Business Mongolia;
  3. To obligate the Government of Mongolia (S. Bayar) to renegotiate the agreement and increase the state share of the Oyu Tolgoi ownership to no less than 50 percent after the first investment is paid-off.

However, the agreement that the government concluded did not fulfill the terms and conditions of the 57th decree [the terms listed above] of the Ikh Khural. Even though some members of parliament have repeatedly demanded that the government make amendments to the agreement in accordance with national interests, the decree has not been enforced until present and whether it will be enforced is not clear.

Thus, we demand that the 57th decree of the State Great Khural on the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement should be enforced and results should be reported to the parliament by October 1, 2011.

If our demand is not fulfilled by this date, we will take all possible measures within our legal authority to conform the agreement to Mongolia’s national interest.

Sincerely,

The members of the State Great Khural who supported this demand:

Mongolian People’s Party

Ts. Davaasuren, B. Bat-Erdene, Ts. Batbayar, D. Baldan-Ochir, S. Byambatsogt, Sh. Saikhansambuu, D. Ochirbat, D. Terbishdagva

Democratic Party

N. Batbayar, D. Gankhuyag, S. Erdene, R. Amarjargal [prime minister 1999-2000], G. Bayarsaikhan, Z. Enkhbold, L. Gantumur, Kh. Temuujin, Ts. Sedvaanchig

Civic Will – Green Party

D. Enkhbat

Independent Members

Z. Altai, Ts. Shinebayar

[Party affiliations added in translation for clarity]

Some points to note about the petition:

  • none of the undersigned are members of cabinet. This makes a sense as the petition is directed at cabinet. It thus does not appear to be the case that Min of Mineral Resources, Zorigt, signed the petition.
  • a subgroup of the undersigned presented the petition at a press conference and seemed to be the initiators of the petition
  • some of the MPs who joined the petition were a surprise in that they had not previously been very vocal in opposing OT or the OT investment agreement: Enkhbat (Civic Will Party), Temuujin and Gantumur (both emerging leaders in the DP)
  • some of the “usual suspects” who have been vocal in their opposition in the past: Batbayar, Enkhbold, Bat-Erdene

A Mongolian securities firm (Frontier Securities) has provided a summary of the open letter to Rio Tinto written by the signatories of the parliamentary petition on their “Daily Strategy Notes” (thanks to Trish Saywell of the Northern Miner for pointing me in this direction).

In the brief analysis of the letter, the “chief investment strategist” for Frontier adds some other aspects to the categorization of signatories that we’ve provided above. I would largely agree with his conclusion that is important to view the petition and subsequent ‘campaign’ in the context of the upcoming parliamentary election and “primarily aimed to destabilizing political status quo and break up the Coalition Government as well as based on desire to project patriotic image to electorate”.

Posted in Foreign Investment, International Agreements, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | 5 Comments

Resources Available to Mongolian MPs

Posted on September 28, 2011 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes

Parliaments around the world differ significantly as to the resources that they make available to individual MPs to support their parliamentary work, but also to serve their constituencies.

In Mongolia, the situation is as follows:

For the 4 years of their term of office, MPs receive an annual allowance of 1 billion MNT (C$820,000 (Sept 2011)) to spend on local development projects from the state budget. Projects can be development related projects, infrastructure development or sometimes an allowance to vulnerable groups within the constituency.

This allowance has increased significantly over the past decade: 2000 = 10 million MNT, then 100 million MNT, 500 million MNT in 2008 and 2009, and now 1 billion MNT per year since 2010.

In addition, MPs receive an allocation of 480.000 MNT (C$400 Sept 2011) for information and advertisement work for their constituency from the secretariat office of the Ikh Khural.

Each MP has three assistants and one adviser. One of the assistants is devoted to serve constituents.

Posted in Governance, JD Democratization, Law, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Legislative Process in Mongolia

Posted on September 27, 2011 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes

[Byambajav Dalaibuyan, Naranzul Bayasgalan, and Mendee Jargalsaikhan all contributed to this post.]

The Ikh Khural (parliament) is the sole legislative body.

The President, the Government (usually the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, but also Ministers who are MPs) and individual members of the Ikh Khural have the right to propose legislation.

Drafting of Laws

Within the government, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs is responsible for drafting laws in collaboration with the relevant Ministry for a specific proposal of a law. The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs collaborates with the ministry or ministries that cover portfolios that are potentially relevant to a draft law.

Even if a law is proposed by the President or an individual member of the Ikh Khural, the
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs forms a working group to draft the law to be submitted to parliament. These working groups may solicit input from stakeholders (private, public, NGO).

Draft laws come in three varieties: a new law, an amendment of an existing law, a rewriting of an existing law.

Proposed Laws in Parliament

When a law is proposed to parliament (by the President, the government or an individual member), the person proposing the law must provide specific information improves the existing body of laws, citing the specific impact this law would have on all interested parties.

Once a law has been proposed formally to the Ikh Khural, the Speaker assigns this proposal to one of seven standing committees: security and foreign policy, environment  and rural development, social policy, state organization, budgetary issues, legal issues, economic issues. Articles 19-25 of the Law of the Mongolian Parliament delineate the portfolios of these committees and their subcommittees and any ad hoc committees.

The 2006 Act on the State Great Khural Procedure suggests that if a draft law concerns public interest it should be discussed by a general session of the Ikh Khural. Furthermore, the Act opened up the possibility to publicize drafts in daily newspapers. After studying public comments, the relevant standing committee may organize hearings to involve testimony or statements from stakeholders and experts, though this is rarely done in practice.

Following any hearings or deliberations, the relevant standing committee will vote on whether to recommend a proposed law (as proposed, without amendments or changes) to be discussed by a plenary session of the Ikh Khural. If such a discussion is recommended, the standing committee designates one of its members to present the committee’s conclusions in this plenary session.

This recommendation is issued to the Speaker of the Ikh Khural who adds discussion of the draft law in a plenary session to parliament’s agenda. Discussions are prioritized by the Speaker in consultation with party leaders and individual members. The President and Prime Minister make announcements of their priorities that are taken into consideration by the Speaker in scheduling discussion at the opening of the parliamentary session in spring and fall.

In the plenary session, a proposed law is introduced by the sponsoring member who is then questioned by members of the Ikh Khural. Next, the Standing Committee reports on its deliberations in less than 15 minutes. Stakeholders may also be invited to speak on the proposed law. Finally, the law goes to a plenary vote. If the law passes without opposition, it is submitted for a final reading. If the law passes with substantial opposition, this opposition is documented.

In the preparation for final reading of the law, amendments can be offered, before it is transferred back to the relevant standing committee. Following its further deliberation, the standing committee passes the proposed law back to the original sponsor to be introduced in a final reading.

If the law is approved in final reading by a simple majority of the Members present, it is subsequently promulgated and published, unless vetoed by the President. The veto can be overridden by a ⅔ parliamentary majority.

If a draft law is not approved, it can be referred back to committee to prepare further readings of the law. These readings can span legislative sessions.

Sources

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Governance, JD Democratization, Law, Politics | Tagged | 3 Comments

Asia Pacific Memo on the Impact of the Xinhai Revolution on Mongolia

Posted on September 22, 2011 by JDierkes

My colleague, Tsering Shakya, wrote an Asia Pacific Memo today that points out that the end of the Qing Empire enabled parallel but different processes of political and social development in Tibet and Mongolia.

In every conversation about the parallel declarations of independence by Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the fascinating links between the two, including personnel overlaps, I continue to learn much that’s curious, fascinating, and enlightening from Dr. Shakya.

Posted in Asia Pacific Memo, China, Mongolia and ... | Tagged | Leave a comment

Canada-Mongolia Roundtable

Posted on September 8, 2011 by JDierkes

On Friday, September 9, the biennial Canada-Mongolia roundtable is meeting in Ottawa. The MNG delegation is led by D Zorigt, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The roundtable had originally been scheduled for earlier this summer, but the fuel crisis  prevented Min. Zorigt’s participation at that time.

A whole range of topics including bilateral aid, military relations, economic relations, environment, public service reform etc. will be discussed. A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement is also still under discussion, see DFAIT’s website on such negotiations.

The wide range of topics to be discussed as well as the broad participation by many Canadian federal departments and agencies hints at the greater importance that Mongolia is acquiring in Canadian foreign policy (thinking).  Hopefully, these meetings might be extended to include academics and other interested parties in the future as well.

Posted in Canada, International Relations | Tagged | 2 Comments

Tono Contemporary Dance

Posted on September 7, 2011 by JDierkes

Red Sky’s “Tono” is (finally) coming to Mongolia: Sept 16 at 18:30h in the Opera.

 

Posted in Canada, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia: A Sultanistic Democracy?

Posted on September 6, 2011 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes

In a late Aug 2011 column for the International Herald Tribune which was also published by the Globe & Mail, Chrystia Freeland of Reuters, wrote about arguments that some of the regimes that are currently crumbling in the Arab world should be categorized as “sultanistic”. She’s referring to a term as used by Jack Goldstone of George Mason Univ. “Sultanistic dictatorships” are focused entirely on the preservation of the power of the “Sultan”, devoid of any motivating ideology or drive. The argument thus goes that dictators like Moammar Qaddafi focus on the maintenance of their power through divide-and-conquer tactics using military might and trusted lieutenants. Their demise is sped up by the lack of a unifying or motivating ideology and various (elite) groups supporting the sultan this quickly abandon him (usually) as power dynamics seem to shift.

In Mongolia, the term “oligarchy” has been used more and more frequently in the past two to three years. The first person I heard use this term in the Mongolian context is Bat-Uul, prominent democracy activist since the early democratic movement and still an important power broker in the Democratic Party. The term is clearly borrowed from the Russian context where it refers to the few individuals who became massively wealthy in the turmoil of the privatization of state assets and through their proximity to political decision-makers. Not all of the “oligarchs” have been able to maintain their closeness to politicians, but they certainly seem to be a force in Russia.

While there are by now many rich people in Ulaanbaatar and many of them obviously maintain close relations with people in political power or wield political power themselves, this term of “oligarch” has not struck me as particularly useful in the Mongolian context. For one, while corruption may certainly have played an important role, it is not the chaos of relatively unstructured and unsupervised privatization that has built the wealth of some of Mongolia’s wealthiest. On the other hand, their wealth often is derived from areas that are quite central to the Mongolian economy, including significant shareholdings in the mining sector.

Yet, I see corruption as one of the root evils that threatens the existence of Mongolian democracy in the long term, not the presence of oligarchs.

As I contemplate long-term scenarios for Mongolian political development, it is clear to me that there is some significant risk of a descent into some kind of popularist authoritarianism (as seen in several of the -stans). The current incarnation of party politics also seems prone to sultanistic tendencies, i.e. an exclusive focus on the preservation of power, rather than a vehicle for democratic decision-making. The lack of a political, ideological and policy profile of any of the Mongolian parties (past and present since the early 1990s) is one of the great laments about political development there, and this lack has made some unfortunate aspects of Mongolian politics relatively prominent.

Of course, the focus on electoral politics is one of the aspects of diverse parties in developed and generally-assumed-to-be mature democracies, like Tony Blair’s and Gerhard Schröder’s Third Way, or Stephen Harper’s electoral strategies and courting of ethnic minorities in contemporary Canada. Nothing unique to Mongolia in this scenario. However, one significant difference: true and tested constitutional and electoral structures with significant distribution of power to different institutions. By contrast, Mongolia’s politicians keep tinkering with some of the foundations of their democracy (witness the recent debates about proportional representation in the Ikh Khural), and with the exact balance of power between the president and parliament/the prime minister (although the current Elbegdorj-Batbold cohabitation seems fairly quiet in this regard). It seems like a charismatic populist would be able to exploit parties’ and individual politicians’ sultanistic tendencies to establish him/herself as an authoritarian figure of some kind.

Posted in Democracy, JD Democratization, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Bill Rafoss: Mongolia Looks to Change Electoral System

Posted on August 30, 2011 by JDierkes

Bill Rafoss recently (August 11, 2011) wrote an article for the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Bill has shared the article with me and I reproduce it (with Bill’s permission) below as well.

Bill Rafoss in Mongolia 2011

Bill Rafoss is a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan teaching in Canadian Politics. He went to Mongolia as an election observer in the 2009 presidential election and again this summer to research post-election violence.

Canada remains one of the last major western countries to operate its electoral system on the ‘first past the post’ system. Three of Canada’s provinces have considered changes to that system, to date unsuccessfully. Mongolia too is considering changes to its electoral system, moving from the first past the post system to one that includes proportional representation. The results of that debate could change the complexion of the Mongolian Parliament or Great State Khural next year.

Mongolia is a parliamentary republic that has been dominated by a two-party system since it severed its ties with the former Soviet Union in 1992. The Mongolia People’s Party (MPP), formerly the Mongolia People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), has been the natural governing party since 1992, but recently the opposition Democratic Party has been challenging the MPP for government.

In the last Parliamentary election in 2008, the MPRP won the most seats in parliament to the dissatisfaction of many urban Mongolians. Rioting broke out in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, following the vote and five people were killed in protests with the police. A Presidential election occurred in 2009 and the Democratic candidate won the Presidency. This sets the stage for a showdown in the next parliamentary election in 2012.

There are two other parties in the Mongolian khural: the Green Party and the Civil Will Party. These smaller parties, joined by other parliamentarians and civil society members, have been calling for electoral reform as a means of making parliament more inclusive. Many see parliament as an ‘old boys club’ fashioned for wealthy men. The leader of the Civil Will Party, Madam S. Oyun, has been an out-spoken critic of the first past the post system. She would like to see Mongolia move to a pure proportional representation system. Under such a system, her party’s 11% vote would translate into approximately the same number of seats and this might give her Green-Civil Will coalition greater bargaining power in Parliament, to the extent that they could even hold the balance of power. This could assist them greatly in forcing swifter action by the government on issues like unemployment and poverty as well as pollution in the capital city. Currently, some 30% of Mongolia’s population live below the poverty level.

A Parliamentary Committee has been struck to recommend changes to the electoral process. There is some urgency to this committee’s work if Mongolia is to avoid the violence that marked the 2008 election. However, the Committee itself has been unable to reach consensus on a new approach. Larger, national parties tend to favour first past the post since it affords them the best chance of achieving a majority government. The MPP in particular, sensing that it has the most to lose in a PR system, has rejected PR for all 76 members of parliament. The latest proposal on the table is to move to a 38/38 formula, where half of the MP’s are elected at the local level, as we do in Canada, with the other half elected through proportional representation from party lists of candidates. In other countries that use proportional representation, these lists tend to field a more diversified group of candidates than the FPTP system.

A decision on changing the electoral process must be made by December 31st this year if the process is to change for the parliamentary election next year. A decision to change to the 38/38 formula could result in a more diversified parliament, where more voices are represented and likely more women are elected. If there is no change, the two party system will continue to dominate Mongolia, with the only question remaining which party will hold power.

Mongolia has recently signed an agreement with Canada to modernize its civil service. Canada would do well in return to watch how Mongolia moves toward a more inclusive parliament, as it may wish to consider such changes in the future.

Posted in Party Politics, Politics | 1 Comment

Economy, Security and Democracy – China, Russia, and US

Posted on August 27, 2011 by mendee

A few days back, Stephen Noerper wrote a commentary – capturing a historic little known visit by the Vice President Biden.

But, I like to rewind it a few months back.  A number of visits by Mongolian officials to its neighbors and third neighbors reciprocated in a very short period.  This was not a case before.  Reciprocation for high-level visits to India, China, US, South Korea, and now Finland as well as Germany is happening just in one year.  Maybe Mongolian diplomats are working so hard, or there is some special interest – attracting Mongolian friends in shorter period.  Mongolian tabloids are linking all these high-level visits with the country’s natural resources, investment in infrastructure, and even not-so-clear nuclear waste repository talks.  These puzzles probably need to be re-visited – What attracts series of high-level visits?  All wants to visit Mongolia while it is a summer there, maybe, – In fact, three high-level persons from US, China, and South Korea landed in the Chinggis Khaan airport in a same day.

In June, 2011, we also observed another interesting dynamics of Mongolian foreign policy.   Mongolia secured over 10 agreements with China and declared strategic partnership.  Almost at the same time, Mongolian President assured that Mongolians miss Russians in his speech in Moscow while Russia was still hardheaded in settling fates of joint ventures in Mongolia in order strike a deal in Mongolian mining exploitation.  In contrast, Mongolian President visited the US military hospital in Washington to express his sympathy for the US military personnel. This was surprised and touched Biden and many other Americans.  Mongolians bought Boeing and requested support for Mongolia’s lead on democratization.  A quick observation is a small nation could play diplomacy with big powers, but it is difficult, and costly, which we start seen from last summer as Mongolia starts receiving bids  from them in the largest choking coal deposit.  Another look, China offers money, Russia tries to make a deal using its old legacy, and US admired Mongolian democracy.  Mongolia looks China for economic support, Russia for security, and US for democracy. Is it representing changes in major powers’ capability and interests.  They all want to be major powers, reality is changing dramatically. Will these three converge or diverge?

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Politics, Russia, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

How do Japanese view Mongolia?

Posted on August 24, 2011 by D.Byambajav

An interesting article written by Kunio Minato (JGSS Research Center).

JGSS-2006 から見た日本におけるモンゴル国の好感度 －東アジア各国・地域との比較検討－
(日本版総合的社会調査共同研究拠点 研究論文集[9] JGSS Research Series No.6)

Abstract

Favorability of Mongolia in Japan Seen From JGSS-2006:
Comparison With East Asian Countries/Region

Relationship between Japan and Mongolia has been expanding since Mongolia abandoned its socialist system in 1990. Then, how do the Japanese feel about this “new” neighbor? And what are the factors associated with it? To answer these questions, the author examined favorability of Mongolia and made a comparative analysis with other East Asian countries and region (South Korea, North Korea, China and Taiwan), using JGSS-2006 data. The results are the following: First, favorability of Mongolia is the second highest after Taiwan. Second, amount of reading books has significant positive effect on the favorability, which might reflect the popularity of Japanese literatures featuring Mongolia or Mongolian figures. Third, males are more likely to have favorable feeling toward Mongolia than females are. Fourth, Mongolia makes favorable impression residents in especially in Kanto area. JGSS-2006 is virtually the first social survey which asks favorability of Mongolia to the Japanese, and the results of analysis shown in this
article are expected to deepen mutual understanding between Japan and Mongolia.

Posted in International Relations, Japan | Tagged | Leave a comment

Air pollution in Ulaanbaatar reaches alarming levels

Posted on August 19, 2011 by D.Byambajav

An article published by Canadian and Mongolian researchers last week argues that nearly 10 percent of Ulaanbaatar city’s total mortality are attributable to outdoor air pollution. The article shows that a major source of air pollution in the city is emissions from home heating in low-income ger areas, and it urges anti-air pollution efforts to focus on those areas.

The article is downloadable from here.

Posted in Air Pollution, Environment, Health, Social Issues, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Arriving in Ulaanbaatar (Again)

Posted on August 14, 2011 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes

[This is a very belated posting of some writing I did in August]

Getting to Ulaanbaatar and then arriving in Ulaanbaatar continues to be somewhat of an adventure even when I’ve arrived on my 10th (I think) trip in the past seven years.

I flew into Tokyo, transferred from the Air Canada terminal to the JAL terminal, flew to Beijing (where personnel remains as surly as ever, though the in-terminal “hourly hotel” is a blessing on this kind of layover, then MIAT at 1h in the morning to arrive at ULN at 3h in the morning.

MIAT now hands out landing cards which is a real blessing as it avoids the mad scramble for the cards in the arrival and immigration hall.

My pick-up was not immediately in the arrivals area, perhaps because I was out so quickly with carry-on only, so I immediately noticed a line of sleek and formal-looking taxis waiting outside the front.

On the drive in, I noticed that the very colourful lights that decorated the last bit of the long road into town this past winter were now lining the road with white lights, while blue lights were draped overhead.

I was meant to stay at the Palace Hotel (which would have been new to me), but that somehow didn’t work out. Lots of construction visible even at night, including a huge apartment block just before the Peace Bridge.

Posted in Change, Tourism, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Insights from the 2010 Mongolia Census

Posted on August 9, 2011 by D.Byambajav

A preliminary summary of the 2010 Mongolia census is available online.  The census shows us some important trends in Mongolia.

Total population in Mongolian has reached 2 754 658. An estimated 100 thousand people counted as Mongolian citizens living abroad for more than six months, but it is doubtful how many percent of Mongolian citizens studying or working abroad were able to register or be counted.

Migration to urban areas is on rise. In 2000, 56.6 percent of the population were living in Ulaanbaatar, aimag centers, and towns. Now, that is 67.9.  Only from the second half of the twentieth century, Mongolia has seen rapid urbanization. Urban population was only 21.6% in 1956, but it doubled within next two decades and reached 51.5% in 1979. There have significant urban to rural migration in the country in the early 1990s due to the privatization of socialist farms and cooperatives. But we see substantial growth of urban population over the past decade. We are in the second wave of rural to urban migration in Mongolia.

Data source: www.toollogo2010.mn

 

 

 

 

 

 

to be continued.

Posted in Demography, Population, Social Issues, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Anti-Chinese Attitudes in Post-Communist Mongolia

Posted on July 29, 2011 by mendee

Anti-Chinese attitudes are luring our interest – so we are attempting to explain this unique phenomenon on Mongolian example. Here is my thesis abstract:

This thesis examines “anti” attitudes in general and anti-Chinese attitudes in Mongolia in particular, to answer the puzzle: Why do anti-Chinese attitudes in Mongolia still persist after both nations have enjoyed friendly, neighborly state-to-state relations for more than two decades? The argument is made that anti-Chinese attitudes in Mongolia are persistent because of lingering impacts of artificially-consolidated negative schemas about China, Chinese people, and their culture from the 1960s-1980s. Mongolian political elites at that time institutionalized anti-Chinese attitudes, introducing only negative schemas, while blocking all other sources for positive or neutral schemas about China. Nevertheless, Mongolian political elites’ attitudes toward China became noticeably positive since mid-2000 due to increased interactions, information, and the changing economic reality despite of the fact that unfavorable views of China and the anti-Chinese attitudes have still dominated the media, blogosphere, and public discourses. The main reason for the gap between attitudes of the political elites and the public can be explained by a reluctance of the political elites and intellectuals to de-construct the past schemas because of its diacritic purpose to differentiate Mongolian identity in addition to material realities. This thesis also contends that anti-Chinese attitudes in Mongolia are a variant of a global anti-Chinese phenomenon. The “anti” attitudes are explained by three main reasons: a power imbalance, a backlash against economic activities, and conflicting identities. In this regard, the Mongolian case study is an excellent entry point to understand the causes and consequences of anti-Chinese attitudes in the small, developing, democratic Chinese neighbors. This thesis uses analytical approaches for a similar phenomenon, anti-Americanism, and extensively uses the notion of schema, as developed by Katzenstein and Keohane (2007) in their conceptualization of anti-Americanisms.

Posted in China, Nationalism, Social Issues, Society and Culture | Tagged | 2 Comments