Author Archives: Marissa Smith

The Constitutional Court and Gridlock in Mongolian Democracy

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Marissa Smith

By Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag and Marissa J. Smith As covered by Mongolia Focus, the Mongolian government made significant changes to the Constitution in 2019. This was the second time that changes have been made since the Democratic Constitution was adopted in … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag, Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Politics, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outrage Over PM’s Suggestion to Draft Young Women into Military

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith The #огцор hashtag is back (#cancelPM #огцор9 #ОгцорEC) after PM Oyun-Erdene made comments about drafting young women, who were characterized as getting married and having children at a young age rather than working, as he chaired … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gender, Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Hunger Striking — DP to MPRP?

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith After the massive #уокогцор strikes last week that preceded the resignation of Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh and his Cabinet, the weekend also saw demonstrations with fewer participants begin on Sukhbaatar Square, focusing on the OT agreement. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, History, Human Rights, Marissa Smith, Mining, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Social Media, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Current and Previous Mongolian Presidents Weigh In on Mongolian Language Education

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith Since Julian’s post on the unfolding events around China’s cancellation of Mongolian-medium education, the current Mongolian president, Kh. Battulga, and his predecessor, Ts. Elbegdorj, have released statements. As a brief update on the situation, Southern Mongolian … Continue reading →

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Posted in Author, China, Cultural Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy, Education, Foreign Policy, Inner Mongolia, Literature, Marissa Smith, Mongolia and ..., Mongolians in China, Nationalism, Politics, Primary and Secondary Education, Social Media, Social Movements, Video | Leave a comment

More on Third Parties: ATOZN

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith With the official start of campaigning season this week, and more information about the candidates approved by the GEC now available, the picture on third parties is clearer. In addition to Demos, which I discussed last … Continue reading →

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Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Marissa Smith, Nationalism, Protest, Security Apparatus | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Demos Party: Women Candidates, Multi-Ethnic Mongolia, and Third Party Rural Strategy

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith Among the four independent parties we are following, the Demos (ЗОН) Party has an interesting mix of most sophisticated web presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, website, and even Wikipedia page!) and its fielding of candidates in every … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Democracy, Elections, Ethnic Groups, Gender, Geography, Ikh Khural 2020, Marissa Smith, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Energy Independence and Internationalism: Oil Extraction and Refining in Mongolia So Far

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith As Julian penned his request for a study on renewable energy potential to members of Mongolia’s cabinet and other relevant policy-makers two weeks ago, London stock exchange-listed  Petro Matad continued its campaign of exploration drilling in … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Energy, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, India, Oil, Russia, Trade | Tagged | Leave a comment

Implications of Power Politics for OT and Elsewhere “Offshore”

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa Smith About a week ago, Mendee and I agreed to write a pair of blog posts on the question of how OT and the current wave of corruption investigations and arrests, most recently involving former Prime Ministers Ch. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Development, Foreign Investment, Infrastructure, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, North Korea, Oyu Tolgoi | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia at Davos 2018: Party like it’s 2009?

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa Smith In recent years, Mongolia has regularly sent a delegation to the World Economic Forum at Davos. This year was somewhat less eventful than some years, when President Elbegdorj himself attended and presided over a “Mongolia Night” and … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Development, Economics, Environment, Environment, Erdenet, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, International Cooperation Fund, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Politics, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment

New PM and Cabinet, New Start with the IMF?

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith On September 6, Parliament opened its new session. On September 7, Prime Minister J. Erdenebat and Cabinet were voted out by Parliament after the motion was announced on August 23rd by thirty members of Erdenbat’s party, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Government, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Beyond “Populism without Party Platforms”: Mongolians’ Politics Beyond Ulaanbaatar

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa Smith The campaign and election of the rough-voiced businessman-judoka Kh. Battulga to the presidency of Mongolia has elicited comparisons to Donald Trump and gestures to a global wave of “populism” from analysts and commentators, journalistic as well as … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Democratic Party, Demography, Elections, Erdenet, Kazakhs, Marissa Smith, Mongolian Diaspora, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Populism, Presidential 2017 | Tagged | Leave a comment