Author Archives: Julian Dierkes

About Julian Dierkes

Julian Dierkes is a sociologist by training (PhD Princeton Univ) and a Mongolist by choice and passion since around 2005. He teaches in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He toots @jdierkes@sciences.social.

Covering 2020 Election

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Mongolia Focus is facing a challenge! In all likelihood, due to COVID-19, none of our core team will be able to travel to Mongolia for the campaign, nor for the election itself. Help us, dear readers, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Author, City Planning, Democracy, eDemocracy, Elections, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2020, Media and Press, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics, Populism, Public Policy | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Dragged into a Power Struggle: Mongolia caught between the Dalai Lama and Beijing

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Manlai N On January 28th 2020, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, India has announced that the long-awaited Tibetan Policy and Support Act was passed in the US House of Representatives. The bill was sponsored by Senator James … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, China, Dalai Lama, History, Manlai Nyamdorj, Religion, Social Issues, Society and Culture, Tibet | Leave a comment

Confirmed Parties Participating in June 2020 Election

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The process of submitting campaign platforms, having those audited, amended, and finally approved by the General Election Committee was concluded on May 12. 15 parties and 4 coalitions have thus been confirmed to be participating in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics | Leave a comment

Regionalization, Internationalisms, and Mongolia’s Almost Century-Old Mining Sector

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Marissa J. Smith In English-language scholarship, Mongolia’s political-economic system has often been characterized as democratic and market-driven. Though not untrue, this characterization casts Mongolia as a unified entity, which redirects attention from how Mongolia is also regionalized, with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Erdenet, Ethnic Groups, Geography, History, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Population, Publications, Research on Mongolia | Tagged Marissa Smith | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Development Challenge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Mongolia

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Naranzul B Changes in Mongolia’s political and economic systems have exacerbated income and social inequality. This, in turn, has excluded a large percentage of the population from benefiting from economic growth. One of the ways out of this situation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Naranzul Bayasgalan, Policy, Vocational | Leave a comment

Guest Post: A BIT of Project Finance Arbitrage in Mongolia

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Kinnari Bhatt As Jennifer Lander observed last week, RIO is getting out the big guns. My new book – Concessionaires, Financiers and Communities: Implementing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Land in Transnational Development Projects, shows how investors like RIO use … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Kinnari Bhatt, Law, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Research on Mongolia, Taxes | Leave a comment

Parties Competing in 2020 Parliamentary Election

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Mendee J and Julian Dierkes We recently collated information about dates and procedures for the upcoming parliamentary election in June. Julian discussed some of the implications of multi-member majoritarian voting with his colleague Max Cameron in a podcast. Now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged Julian Dierkes; Mendee Jargalsaikhan | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Investor-State Arbitration and Mongolia’s Rapidly Shrinking Policy Space

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Jennifer Lander On the 20th of February, Rio Tinto initiated arbitration proceedings against the Government of Mongolia at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) through Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The escalation of the dispute over the alleged … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Taxes, Trade | Leave a comment

Comparative Electoral Systems

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I am an avid listener of podcasts. Unfortunately, Mongolia only makes a rare appearance in English-language podcasts. I’ve long thought abt podcast bringing social science disciplinary interests into more dialogue w/ area knowledge. Just had wonderful conversation … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Ikh Khural 2020, Party Politics, Podcast, Politics, Research on Mongolia | Leave a comment

Election Primer 2020 – Electoral System & Procedures

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan After experimenting the 2015 election law with integrated parliamentary, presidential, and local elections, in the 2016-2017 election cycles, the parliament agreed to pass separate laws governing each election. The integrated election law created more … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Politics | Tagged Julian Dierkes; Mendee Jargalsaikhan | Leave a comment

Constitutional Reforms and Political Party Creation

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Gerelt-Od Erdenebileg The Mongolian Parliament has passed a number of constitutional amendments on November 14, 2019. Elements of this constitutional reform had been discussed by many political parties and politicians for the last twenty years. Among … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Gerelt-Od Erdenebileg, Governance, JD Democratization, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Summer 2020 Field Schools

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Marissa J. Smith Interested in educational travel to Mongolia this summer? We will be holding a webinar about field schools Wednesday, February 5, at 4 PM Pacific Time/Thursday, February 6, at 8 AM in Ulaanbaatar. The American Center for … Continue reading →

Posted in American Center for Mongolian Studies, Research on Mongolia | Tagged Marissa Smith | Leave a comment

Fascist Symbolism in Mongolia

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Niels Hegewisch and Julian Dierkes Recent attention to ethno-rock sensation The Hu has revived concerns about the (seeming) use of fascist iconography in Mongolian politics. While fascist symbols are immediately distasteful to Western observers, in Asia such symbols need … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Music, Nationalism, Niels Hegewisch, Politics, Pop Culture, Populism, Protest, Social Issues, Society and Culture | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Author Archives: Julian Dierkes

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