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 and tweets @jdierkes

How Large Does Putin’s Russia Loom?

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Earlier in the year, in the context of the coverage of the events in Kazakhstan, I jotted down some notes, but more in terms of what I might do in a global news event involving Mongolia than … Continue reading →

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Posted in Central Asia, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Understanding the Challenges of Water Development and Hydropower Plant Projects

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By BOLORMAA Purevjav A “National Program for renewable energy 2005-2020” of Mongolia was adopted in 2005 planning the development of feasibility studies for the construction of large hydropower plants on the Selenge, Eg and Orkhon rivers. The Government of Mongolia … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bolormaa Purevjav, Environment, Environmental Movements, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Policy, Regulation, River Movements, Russia, Water | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Decoding an Asian Diaspora

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Anoushka Chandarana, Anthony Coompson, Jemimah Ogundele, and Narayanan (Hari) GL Currently, there are around 34,000 Mongolian-origin people living in Canada and the U.S., around half of whom have lived there for over five years. Issues faced by this small, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Anoushka Chandarana, Anthony Coompson, Canada, Demography, Diaspora, Jemimah Ogundele, Mongolia and ..., Mongolian Diaspora, Narayanan GL, United States | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Stepping Up Climate Action Represents a Clear Win for the Environment, People and the Economy

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Annaka Peterson Building a green economy and investing in climate action has been on the agenda of the Government of Mongolia for some time, and it is an increasingly important part of the national development agenda. It goes without … Continue reading →

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Posted in Annaka Peterson, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Movements | Leave a comment

Mongolia Focus 2021 in Review

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In summer of 2021, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our blog, we’re now into the 11th year of providing analyses of contemporary development, always non-partisan, always for free, rooted in our academic research on Mongolia. 2021 … Continue reading →

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Posted in Reflection | Tagged | Leave a comment

Media Notes for Future Revolution

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Two important notes up front: I cast sideways glances at Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan more than other countries, for historical/cultural similarities, resource-based development trajectories and landlocked-next-to-Russia-and-China status shared with Mongolia. I have no particular expertise on Kazakhstan. I … Continue reading →

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Posted in Central Asia, Democracy, Kazakhstan, Media and Press, Reflection, Social Media, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Want to Support our Analyses?

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

We have been offering our analyses for free here since 2011. There are no plans to change that, although we have always offered consulting services to a variety of clients. If you are a regular reader or you think that … Continue reading →

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Posted in Reflection | Leave a comment

A Panel Analysis of Current Options for a Renewed Oyu Tolgoi Agreement

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Since the Dec 13 announcement of a RioTinto offer to write off government debt, relatively little discussion has followed in the Mongolian public. As I mentioned in a previous post, the MPP response has been almost enthusiastic. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Erdenes Mongol, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Public Opinion, Public Policy, Research on Mongolia, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rio Tinto/Turquoise Hill Offer on Debt Forgiveness for Oyu Tolgoi Stake

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes On the morning of December 13, PM Oyun-Erdene “unveiled” an offer he received from Rio Tinto/Turquoise Hill that appears to be intended to form the basis for a new agreement to jumpstart underground development at Oyu Tolgoi. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Economics, Erdenes Mongol, Foreign Investment, JD Mining Governance, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Public Policy, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

A More Constructive Longterm Interaction Between Rio Tinto and Mongolia

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In a previous post, I gave my sense of where the re-negotiations regarding the OT Agreement are heading and how I see this as a step in a repeating cycle. I have also pointed to a quest … Continue reading →

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Posted in Education, EITI, International Agreements, JD Democratization, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

Search for (Oyu Tolgoi) Perfection

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have recently shared my perspective on the negotiations of a (new) OT Agreement. Below, I want to highlight one of the aspects that I see as bringing about this cycle, an aspect that is also prevalent … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democracy, Governance, JD Mining Governance, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Politics, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

2021 Oyu Tolgoi Negotiations

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes How can I resist the following challenge? So what do you think is the key to resolving the OT situation? MPP controls government, so clearly decisions can be taken. What about Rio’s behaviour? Is GOM being unfair? … Continue reading →

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Posted in Erdenes Mongol, International Agreements, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fragmented Power

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes A recent article in The Economist compares political contestation around the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. There a number of aspects to that comparison that make it very interesting: Democratization: Kyrgyzstan has – … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, EITI, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Kyrgyz Republic, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

By-elections 2021

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In the aftermath of the presidential election in June, one of the big questions that remained was whether the strong minority support that D Enkhbat received as linked to the weakness of S Erdene as a candidate … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

World-Leading National University of Mongolia?

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Orkhon Gantogtokh Rankings of schools and universities were initially conceived to bring accountability and transparency to education. In this, they are similar to all kinds of rankings that are applied to countries, including Mongolia. Yet, university … Continue reading →

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Posted in Education, Global Indices, Higher Education, Orkhon Gantogtokh | Tagged | Leave a comment