Tag Archives: Julian Dierkes

Bloggin’ 2015

Happy new year! This has been the fifth year of our blogging (we started in July 2011). Most of the writing has passed to Mendee and I, though Byamba and Brandon have continued to chip in. We’ve managed to post … Continue reading

Posted in Social Media | Tagged | 1 Comment

New to Ulaanbaatar in late 2015

I’ve been keeping a list of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013. I’ve copied the 2014 and 2015 lists here and am adding to it. New items since previous posts appear in italics. What has … Continue reading

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

Learning about Development Policy in Uvs Aimag

I just visited Uvs province in Western Mongolia for the first time and had the chance to meet with stakeholder representatives from government, civil society, small businesses, and the corporate sector to learn about their development policy. Fascinating 1st visit … Continue reading

Posted in CIRDI, Civil Society, Countryside, Development, Mining, Policy, Policy, Regulation, Social Issues, Social Movements, Water | Tagged | 2 Comments

Methodology as a Methodology

As exhausting as all-day meetings with stakeholders can be (with a bit of jetlag, multiple languages and instant coffee thrown into the mix), I am always fascinated by how individuals present themselves, what they are looking for, and how questions … Continue reading

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UN Human Rights Council

I recently wrote about President Elbegdorj’s address to the UN General Assembly this September and his statement that he is seeking UN recognition for Mongolia’s status as “permanently neutral”. Elbegdorj ended this speech with a call for support from other … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., UN | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Constitutional Reform

By Julian Dierkes I am not a constitutional scholar. My observations on the constitutional reform proposals that are being considered by the Mongolian parliament are thus based on my understanding of Mongolian politics on the one hand, and my experience of … Continue reading

Posted in Aimags, Constitution, Democracy, Foreign Policy, Governance, JD Democratization, Politics | Tagged | 3 Comments

Constitutional Revision

By Julian Dierkes It appears that all of a sudden the push for constitutional revision is alive and becoming more concrete with a multi-party submission of a draft in parliament that appears to have the support of 60% of MPs. … Continue reading

Posted in Aimags, Constitution, Democracy, Governance, International Relations, JD Democratization, Judiciary, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Countryside Impressions

On recent visits, I have generally been stuck in Ulaanbaatar. In late October, however, I had the opportunity to travel out to Arvaikheer, the capital of Uvurkhangai and to collect some impressions from this brief foray into the countryside. As … Continue reading

Posted in CIRDI, Countryside, Curios, Development | Tagged | Leave a comment

Permanent Neutrality

At the UN General Assembly, on Sept 29 2015, Pres. Ts Elbegdorj included a very brief statement in his address that, Mongolia has pursued an peaceful, open, multi-pillar foreign policy. This stance enabled us to declare Mongolia in a state … Continue reading

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Military, Mongolia and ..., Russia, UN | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cabinet Reshuffle

By Julian Dierkes Roughly a month after MPP members were kicked out of cabinet, we now appear to have a Saikhanbileg II cabinet forming. Cabinet Composition The new cabinet members are: G Bayarsaikhan (DP), Min of Labour B Bolor (DP), … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Government, Ikh Khural 2016, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ulaanbaatar Impressions

By Julian Dierkes Yes, another periodic visit to Ulaanbaatar, yes once again too short a visit, but here are some immediate impressions along the lines of observations on previous visits that I noted down: May 2015 | November 2014 | May 2014 … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Curios, Ikh Khural 2016, Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 2 Comments

Politics in Late Summer 2015

By Julian Dierkes I’m about to head to Ulaanbaatar for a very brief visit. While summer is a time of parliamentary recess and Naadam, it has been a bit more eventful than usual with the de facto dissolution of PM … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Investment, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Public Opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

Concrete Information on Corruption Paints Depressing Picture

By Julian Dierkes I have written about corruption in various contexts in the past, most recently comparing the context of anti-corruption movements in India and Mongolia. In that post, I wrote that, “Petty corruption, systemic corruption, as well as grand … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Corruption in India: Lessons for Mongolia?

A Conversation With Asim Arun One of the things I really like about the broad variety of disciplinary academic perspectives on Mongolia that I come in contact with (for example, a lot of the discussions at the recent Oxford Deserts … Continue reading

Posted in Asim Arun, Corruption, Governance, India, Party Politics, Politics, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Planning for 2016 УИХ Election

By Julian Dierkes In June 2016, Mongolians will be voting for a new parliament, the Улсын Их Хурал. Having served as an election observer in the last four national elections, I’m thinking about what activities could be undertaken now to prepare … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Party Politics | Tagged | 5 Comments