About Julian Dierkes

Julian Dierkes is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research (IAR) and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA). He co-ordinates the IAR’s Program on Inner Asia and is a frequent visitor to Mongolia.

Dr. Dierkes is a sociologist by training (PhD Princeton). In addition to contemporary Mongolia, his research interests focus on supplementary education, especially in Japan (see e.g. Jukupedia – Shadowing Education).

In UBC’s Master in Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA), Dr. Dierkes has co-supervised graduate projects on mining regulation in Mongolia with colleagues in mining engineering.

He has served as an election observer in the 2008 parliamentary,  2009 presidential, 2012 parliamentary and 2013 presidential, and 2017 presidential elections in Mongolia. He has written about Mongolia for Asia Pacific Memo, East Asia Forum, the FT’s beyond BRICS, The Diplomat and elsewhere, and also consults on political risk in Mongolia.

Dierkes was awarded a Friendship Medal in 2023.

He toots at Mastodon, including frequent notes on Mongolia.

Dierkes is easily mistaken for a socialist, but at least he’s an expert!