Author Archives: mendee

About mendee

Jargalsaikhan Mendee is a Deputy Director of the Institute for Defense Studies of Mongolia. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and MAs in International Relations from the US Naval Postgraduate School and in Asia-Pacific Policy Studies from the Institute of Asian Research of the University of British Columbia.

Untold Blogpost 5: “3D Printing Makes Prosthetics Easier and Brings it Closer”

Posted on May 9, 2021 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Our guest is a young engineer, Mandakhnaran, who makes 3D-printed arms for children. It strikes us that there are very few people who know about the 3D-printable prosthetic devices in town. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Mongolia · #5 Гурван хэмжээст … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, People with Disabilities, Podcast, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Untold Blogpost 4: “Introducing A New Idea: Independent Livelihood”

Posted on April 26, 2021 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Our guest is Undrakhbayar, the founder and director of Tugeemel Hugjil (Universal Progress MILC), the first-ever Center for Independent Living for people with disabilities in Mongolia. As a result of a doctor’s failure to perform a spinal … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Health, Human Rights, Inequality, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, People with Disabilities, Podcast | Tagged | Leave a comment

Untold Podcast Episode 3: “My Dream Is Safe, Accessible Streets”

Posted on April 18, 2021 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Our guest was Mrs. Chuluundolgor – President of the Mongolian National Wheelchair Users’ Association and we did not realize that our recording lasted way over an hour. She faced similar challenges to our first guest Battulga. Because … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Gender, Human Rights, People with Disabilities | Tagged | Leave a comment

Untold Podcast Episode 2: “We are different, but we respect each other”

Posted on April 6, 2021 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Our second guest of our UNTOLD podcast is Altangerel, CEO of the Autism Association of Mongolia. Over 800 parents were registered in the association and many of them joined from abroad. But they all share the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Health, Human Rights, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, People with Disabilities, Podcast, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Untold Podcast & First Guest

Posted on March 22, 2021 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Untold Stories of Persons with Disabilities in Mongolia This is the name of our podcast and reflective blogspot. According to the National Statistics Office of Mongolia, 107.1 thousand of us are considered as persons with disabilities. A whole … Continue reading →

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2020 Local Elections

Posted on October 20, 2020 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Julian Dierkes  The local elections usually do not get much attention from international journalists, Mongolia-watchers, and even in-country diplomats. However, local elections at the capital city/aimag and district/soum level have several important implications for the country’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Aimags, Democratic Party, Elections, Governance, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, National Labor Party, Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Imagining A Perfect Election Day and Joint Observation Mission in Mongolia

Posted on May 29, 2020 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Mongolia will be the second northeast Asian country to conduct a parliamentary election amidst the current pandemic following South Korea. Learning from my Korean colleagues, the South Korean parliamentary election was successful with the highest voter turnout … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Election 2020 – Updates

Posted on March 29, 2020 by mendee

By Mendee J Parties and Coalitions Submitted Platforms for Auditing On March 25, the National Audit Office of Mongolia acknowledged the receipt of the election campaign platforms from 15 political parties and 4 coalitions. Parties and coalitions will have five … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making News in November 2019

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Constitutional Revision Just days before the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the abolition of the monarchy, the MPP-ruled parliament and DP president reached a compromise on a set of amendments to the 1992 constitution.  Today, at … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Constitution, Democracy, Foreign Policy, Governance, Ikh Khural 2020, Judiciary, Military, Mining, Mining Governance, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2021, Protest, Russia, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Constitutional Revision Leads to Uncertainty

Posted on October 9, 2019 by mendee

By  Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Julian Dierkes In hope of revising the 1992 constitution, G Zandanshatar, the speaker of the Mongolian parliament proudly declared the parliament’s decision to hold a national referendum on proposed changes on September 11 at the closing … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Charm Offensive: Chinese Ambassador’s Address on the State of the Sino-Mongolian Relationship

Posted on February 1, 2019 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Amidst the New Year’s celebrations and political tumult in Ulaanbaatar (South China Morning Post, December 6, 2018), Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming published a long seasonal greeting in the Mongolian media (Montsame, December 21, 2018). His message to … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, China, Cultural Diplomacy, Eurasia Daily Monitor | Tagged | Leave a comment

Imagining Nalaikh Mining Museum and Education Centre

Posted on October 15, 2018 by mendee

By Hongorzul Bayarnyam & Mendee Jargalsaikhan All Starts with the Kindergarten Teacher It was touching to see the paintings of kids at the 123-rd kindergarten of Nalaikh District.  In their imagined world, all coal miners had safety helmets with flashlights, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Hongorzul Bayarnyam, Kazakhs, Mining, Museums, Nalaikh, Primary and Secondary Education | Tagged | Leave a comment

Triggers for Upheaval: Yes, But It Depends

Posted on October 1, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan I agree with Julian on the point that Mongolia is not a violence-free state like any others, but I would make a distinction between rioting, which is a momentary violent public disturbance, and public demonstrations or mass protests. … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Human Rights, Inequality, Kazakhs, Nationalism, Uncategorized, Wrestling, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Tavan Tolgoi Study: Disenfranchised Drivers

Posted on September 4, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Byambajav Dalaibuyan  Who Are They?  There are about 7000 ~ 9000 drivers – carrying out massive coal transportation from three mines, Ukhaa Khudag (known as Energy Resources LLC), State-Owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, and locally-owned Tavan Tolgoi … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Environment, Mining, Mining Governance, Tavan Tolgoi | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Preliminary Results of Tavan Tolgoi Study: Irresponsible State, Disenfranchised Drivers

Posted on September 3, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan & Byambajav Dalaibuyan  The Mongolian Institute for Innovative Policies conducted a human rights assessment in areas affected by Tavan Tolgoi coal mining and transportation operations in Tsogt-Tsetsii, Bayan-Ovoo, and Khanbogd soums of Umnugobi province in March – … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Environment, Erdenes Mongol, Gobi, Human Rights, Infrastructure, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Public Opinion, Tavan Tolgoi | Tagged , | Leave a comment