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.

MNB World Interview

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

In August, Julian Dierkes was interviewed on MNB World by Belgutei Tumendemberel.

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Posted in Air Pollution, Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Party Politics, Politics, Younger Mongolians | Leave a comment

Pervasive Sense of (Political) Crisis

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes During my most recent visit to Mongolia, I heard talk of political crisis everywhere. [A strong argument for visiting more often!] Not the kind of crisis that could be resolved by a change of government, although rumours … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democracy, Governance, Ikh Khural 2020, JD Democratization, Nationalism, Party Politics, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Media, Social Movements, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Inside Policy Workshops

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes This will be very familiar to Mongolian readers, but perhaps of more interest to non-Mongolian readers, or those who have not travelled in the countryside beyond tourism. My experience comes from election observation on the one hand, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Architecture, Curios, Development | Tagged | 1 Comment

Employment

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have been encountering “unemployment” as a political challenge in Mongolia for many years. Most recently, in a set of six workshops on policy-making and political parties organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation Mongolia for the Mongolian People’s Party youth organization (НАМЗХ) and the Trade Union … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Countryside, Diversification, Economics, Employment, Policy, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar August 2018

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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

Guest Post: Flooding in Mongolia

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Jangar Ts Recent floods in Mongolia have brought about a lot of discussions. Continuous heavy rains all over the country quickly resulted in multiple floods, destroying communication lines, affecting some villages and infrastructure. In the northern part of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Environment, Flooding, Gobi, Grassland, Jangar Tsembel, Natural Disaster, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Rose-Tinted Views: My Optimist View of Mongolia

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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

Guest Post: Grappling with Wrestling Titles

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Zorigtkhuu B National wrestling is considered a Mongolian precious cultural heritage. It holds the Guinness World Record that involved 6,002 wrestlers during the largest Mongolian wrestling tournament which was organized  on 17th September. 2011. Wrestlers have been entertaining the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Naadam, Wrestling, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Akçay Mobilization

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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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 Julian Dierkes

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 →

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Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Development, Environment, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | 1 Comment

Turkish Attempt to Abduct Educator in Ulaanbaatar

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan More than just a curious spy story, this might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years. Note that it is … Continue reading →

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Posted in Foreign Policy, Security Apparatus, Turkey | Tagged | 1 Comment

Rio Tinto in Mongolia

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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

Job Rotation in the Mongolian Cabinet, at Turquoise Hill and at Oyu Tolgoi

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Bulgan B Any observer would agree that the development of Oyu Tolgoi has been a winding and meandering path. In the foreign press and from an international investor perspective, mentions of the frequent turnover of Mongolian … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Government, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi | Tagged | Leave a comment

Present and Past of Mongolia: 15 Years of Changes as Observed by a Civil Engineer

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Kenji Maruoka Translated from Japanese by Ts Jangar Originally published as 「谷川,　聡. (Tanigawa Satoru).(2017). モンゴルの今と昔～2000 年から土木技術者として見てきた15 年の変遷～. KON BAINA UU. No１６ It was my first visit of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where I came to work for Japan’s ODA program in the early May … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bilateral Aid, Change, Development, Infrastructure, Social Change, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

What to Call a Trump-Kim Summit?

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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