Tag Archives: Julian Dierkes

Let’s Call them Sumo Bonds

In a great conversation with a fellow long-time Mongolia watcher, we were contemplating what to call a ¥-denominated Mongolian bond. This follows Prime Minister Altankhuyag’s trip to Japan last week. It appears that a ¥-denominated Mongolian bond with a volume … Continue reading

Posted in Curios | Tagged | 3 Comments

Back in the UB

By Julian Dierkes It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to post about my first impressions back in Ulaanbaatar after an absence. This time, my absence was not very long, i.e. from the presidential election in late June … Continue reading

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

Mongolia Buffeted by Global Winds

[For another version of  observations of the current situation in Mongolia, see my piece in the Wall Street Journal Asia on September 13. This piece has been  posted on the World Economic Forum blog as well.] For most of the … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Development, Foreign Investment, Governance, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

UBC Job in Asian Public Policy

The Institute of Asian Research is hiring an assistant professor (tenure-track) in Asian Public Policy. I would personally be thrilled to see applications of junior scholars who focus some or all of their work on Mongolia. Here’s the job ad: … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Does Presidential Pardon Bring End to Enkhbayar Saga?

Mongolian President Ts Elbegdorj was narrowly re-elected to a second term in the June 26 presidential election. He is embarking on this second and final term with expectations of personnel continuity and policy stability. He is setting out on this … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Democratic Party, Law, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Politics, Populism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Failed States Index

The Fund for Peace released its 2013 Failed States Index (FSI) earlier in July 2013 and I’ve included the ranking in our Mongolia Scorecard. Methodology The Failed States Index aims to identify ” pressures [that] are pushing a state towards the brink of … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Development, Global Indices, Governance, Inequality, JD Democratization, Politics, Population, Security Apparatus, Social Issues, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Seeking Research Collaborator on Education

Looking for a Research Collaborator for Small Project on Private Education in Ulaanbaatar I have heard some reports about the mushrooming of private primary and secondary schools in Ulaanbaatar. These schools seem to fall on a very wide spectrum from … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Primary and Secondary Education, Research on Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Vote Shares by Regions

Among the data that the General Election Commission has made available quickly is the breakdown by Aimag and Ulaanbaatar ridings. It’s quite clear from a glance that Elbegdorj has won this election on the strength of his showing in the … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Digesting the Results of the Presidential Election

I will be updating, changing, adding to and deleting from this post continuously this morning (June 27 in Ulaanbaatar) as I sort my thoughts and understanding of the result of the presidential election. At 8:30h it seems like the GEC … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Investigating the Rural Vote

Over the past weekend, I was very fortunate to have the chance to travel to Khentii Aimag and to speak to a number of locals. I was particularly interested in how the campaign messages of the three candidates played in … Continue reading

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Presidential Q&A

The general view in Ulaanbaatar was that Bat-Erdene was trailing Elbegdorj significantly in voter support in some part because of his lack of political experience, and profile and the fact that he doesn’t “look presidential”. This latter judgement is not … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Education, Elections, Foreign Policy, Judiciary, Mining, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Presidential 2013, Security Apparatus, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bits and Pieces about the Campaign and Upcoming Vote

Three days remain in the presidential campaign, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In central Ulaanbaatar, there still is very little of a sense of excitement or at least public drama around the campaign. Certainly, residents of the downtown core are a … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Some Perspectives on Election Campaign from Parties and Observers

In meetings with party officials from the DP and MPP, I heard – not surprisingly – very different perspectives on the election. On the one hand, voters were described as interested in specifics of platform proposals, on the other hand … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

1st Interim Report

[The title of the post is a bit of a pun, of course, as the OSCE election observation mission to Mongolia has been producing very substantial documents updating on their monitoring and these are entitled “Interim Report”] Quiet Ulaanbaatar I … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013, Public Opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

Back in Ulaanbaatar Town

Für Mongolei Nostalgiker… 懐かしいねえ After too long an absence, I’m back in Ulaanbaatar. Returning 1-3 times per year over the last eight years has given me time lapse glimpses of rapid developments in Ulaanbaatar. At ULN, I was delighted to … Continue reading

Posted in Curios, Society and Culture, Tourism, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 1 Comment