Tag Archives: Julian Dierkes

New to Ulaanbaatar August 2018

Posted on August 28, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping a list of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013. More informal versions of these observations also appear in the /ulaanbaatar/change/ category. I’ve copied the … Continue reading →

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

Rose-Tinted Views: My Optimist View of Mongolia

Posted on August 15, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Had a really interesting conversation! Wow, what a network of worldly, interesting Mongolians, Bataa has assembled! A number of his friends were kind enough to mention that they read the blog and it turned out that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Media and Press, Politics, Reflection | Tagged | Leave a comment

IAAC: To Change Directors or Strengthen the Institutions?

Posted on August 7, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Julian Dierkes In a previous post, we discussed the joint efforts of President Kh Battulga, MP L Oyun-Erdene (MPP), and concerned citizen O Darkhanbaatar, regarding the current leadership of the IAAC.  The most publicized reason for … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Judiciary, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Akçay Mobilization

Posted on August 2, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The late July apparent attempt to kidnap a Gülen-affiliated educator in Mongolia is still animating a lot of discussions one week later. The most pressing questions still surround the cooperation that some Mongolian authorities must have given … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Primary and Secondary Education, Protest, Security Apparatus, Turkey | Tagged | Leave a comment

Study Tours, Policy Implementation and Necessary Context

Posted on July 30, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Over the years I have been – mostly peripherally, though not for lack of trying – involved in various attempts to describe good practices from other countries to Mongolian policy makers in the hopes of seeing elements … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Development, Environment, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rio Tinto in Mongolia

Posted on July 10, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Recently, Bulgan B and I pointed out that there have been as many CEOs at Oyu Tolgoi over the past ten years as there have been PMs of Mongolia. I also appeared on a live BBC radio … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Mining, Mining Governance, Nationalism, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

What to Call a Trump-Kim Summit?

Posted on May 9, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Yes, an actual meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump still seems somewhat unlikely, and the chance that it would happen in Ulaanbaatar is even smaller. But if it did happen … there are some plans to … Continue reading →

Posted in Curios, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Tourism, Ulaanbaatar, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sounds of a Ger

Posted on May 5, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes For any visitor to Mongolia who has the chance to sleep in a ger, that is probably a highlight. I enjoy it every time I have a chance. One of the aspects that often makes it a … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Curios, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Some Thoughts about Logistics of a Steppe Summit

Posted on April 19, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Can Ulaanbaatar and the Mongolian government handle hosting a Trump-Kim meeting? Yes, of course, though it would stretch some resources. Past Summits Mongolia involved itself very actively in a number of multilateral organizations and meetings during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Ulaanbaatar, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolische Beziehungen zu Nordkorea und USA

Posted on April 1, 2018 by JDierkes

Julian Dierkes [Eine kürzere Version dieses Artikels ist bei Internationale Gesellschaft und Politik am 3.4.2018 erschienen.] Im Laufe der letzten sechs Monate hat sich die koreanischen Halbinsel wieder zu dem globalen Brennpunkt entwickelt. An der Situation in Nordkorea selber scheint … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia’s Role in Engaging North Korea

Posted on March 17, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes North Korea has long been an important element in Mongolia’s foreign relations. With the surprise announcement of plans for a meeting between Pres. Donald Trump and Chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea Kim Jong-un, we tried … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, UN, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cars in Mongolia

Posted on February 19, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Our image of Mongolia may be dominated by horses as a part of the landscape, but also as a mode of transport. But, of course, motorized transport is very common place today. Development Stages and Motorization I … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Change, Countryside, Curios, Development, Social Change, Social Issues, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

SOMO Report “Mining Taxes”

Posted on February 1, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) published a report focused on a whole list of issues related to financial and governance structures for the Oyu Tolgoi project. The report was written by SOMO’s Vincent Kiezebrink and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Corruption, EU, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, International Relations, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

SOMO Report Preamble: Assumptions

Posted on February 1, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes It struck me while reading the SOMO report on Oyu Tolgoi governance and tax structures that there are a number of big assumptions and elements in the Mongolian context that are not discussed explicitly, but that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Investment, International Agreements, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

How Are We To Think About Rio’s Balancing of Political Risk and Taxation in Light of SOMO Report?

Posted on February 1, 2018 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Rio Tinto’s response to the SOMO report claims that the convoluted corporate structure that has been created for Oyu Tolgoi is not aimed at saving taxes, but rather at reducing investment risk. For as long as Rio … Continue reading →

Posted in International Agreements, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Public Policy, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment