Category Archives: Author

Guest Post: Naadam Festival – Honouring the Past, Embracing the Future

By Zorigtkhuu B The Naadam Festival is a one-of-a-kind celebration of nomadic culture, symbolizing national independence and featuring a blend of arts and sports, which took place last week. It is the largest gathering for all Mongolians, taking days off … Continue reading

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

Guest Post: The Jetsun Dampa in Contemporary Mongolia

This continues a first post that focused on the historical context of the identification of a reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba. By Tsering Shakya The Jetsun Dampa and Post-Soviet Concerns It was not until the collapse of the Soviet Union that … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, China, Religion, Tibet, Tsering Shakya | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Backbone of the New National Anticorruption Strategy will be the Private Sector and Civil Society

By D Tegshbayar Mongolia’s IAAC (Independent Agency Against Corruption) announced on April 12, 2023 that it has presented a new national anticorruption strategy to be implemented up to 2030 to its parliament. This draft strategy drastically shifted its previous focus … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Darambazar Tegshbayar, EITI, Global Indices, Governance, Law, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Return of the Holy Emperor

By Tsering Shakya On 8th March, the Dalai Lama gave the Chakrasamvara Empowerment, a tantric rite of initiation, in Dharamsala, in northern India; the ceremony is said to have been requested by Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar. At the ceremony, slightly … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, China, Dalai Lama, Religion, Tibet, Tsering Shakya | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolian Visuals – Capturing the City in Rapid Changes

By Mend-Amar Baigalmaa In December 2019, when the decision to demolish the Natural History Museum was announced, many residents of the city fought with the slogan #SaveTheMuseum, and professionals led by G. Ochbayar—researcher of the Ulaanbaatar City Museum appealed to … Continue reading

Posted in Anand Tumurtogoo, Architecture, Change, Curios, Heritage, History, Mend-Amar Baigalmaa, Society and Culture, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Guest post: Mongolia’s Success in Team Sports

By Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene  On April 1, 2023, the Mongolian male basketball team repeated their historic success by winning the 3×3 Asian Cup, defeating the Australian team twice, the first time being in 2017. This remarkable achievement has sparked widespread celebration … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural Diplomacy, Demography, Diaspora, Mining, Pop Culture, Population, Public Opinion, Society and Culture, Sports, Tokyo 2020, United States, Younger Mongolians, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Canada and Mongolia – The Enhanced Development Partnership that Never Was

By Stephen Brown In the early 2010s, the Canadian government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, developed a special interest in Mongolia. In 2014, after a flurry of diplomatic visits, Canada designated Mongolia a “country of focus” for its development … Continue reading

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, CIRDI, Development, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Public Policy, Research on Mongolia, Stephen Brown | 3 Comments

Guest Post: For the 3rd Time, the Mongolian Parliament Has Passed a Law in Breach of Other Laws

By D. TEGSHBAYAR On January 18, 2023, the Mongolian parliament passed a “bill to protect human rights on social media” that allows to regulate social media contents. Within a little over 48 hours after the draft proposal submitted by the … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Constitution, Darambazar Tegshbayar, Human Rights, Law, Media and Press, Politics, Protest, Social Media | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Sino-Mongolian Relations: A New Era?

By Borjgin Shurentana On November 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to welcome the state visit of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsuh. A 21-gun salute was fired on Tiananmen Square, and Khurelsuh, … Continue reading

Posted in Borjgin Shurentana, China, Foreign Policy, Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, International Relations, Mongolians in China, Oyu Tolgoi, Trade | Leave a comment

Guest Post: One Day in Mongolian Twitter – Inner Mongolian Girl’s Accidental Social Media Stir

By Manlai Nyamdorj On October 14th I wrote a short thread on the surge of Inner Mongolian Twitter accounts in the Mongolian Twitter space. A short thread????on Chinese social media intrusion on Mongolian twittersphere. This past July I noticed and … Continue reading

Posted in China, Inner Mongolia, Manlai Nyamdorj, Mongolians in China, Social Media | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolia’s New PM-In-Waiting: Who Is D Amarbayasgalan?

By Amar Adiya New Cabinet Chief Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan is increasingly emerging to be a likely successor to Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene in the future, i.e., post-2024 election. As new ministers are settling into their roles following August cabinet reshuffle, Amarbayasgalan … Continue reading

Posted in Amar Adiya, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Sukhgerel Dugersuren: Criminal or Marmite Character?

By Jennifer Lander Contrary to popular opinion and the slogans of international organisations, democracy and economic development do not always make for easy bedfellows. One of the basic elements of democracy has to do with the function of law under … Continue reading

Posted in Environmental Movements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Politics, Protest, Protest, Renewables, Security Apparatus | Leave a comment

Untold 24: Adults Don’t Want to Understand Epilepsy

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan “In today’s selfish society, most people don’t even look at a poor person lying on the ground”, our guest sighs, “some people would just walk over the person without paying any attention to whether that person is … Continue reading

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

Guest Post: Naadam 2022 – International Participants and Backroom Deals

By Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene What is Naadam? “Naadam” is a traditional festival that is the most widely celebrated and watched in Mongolia and elsewhere among Mongolians, Inner Mongolians and Tuva Republic. The Naadam festival is celebrated during midsummer and officially takes … Continue reading

Posted in Buryatia, Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Kalmykia, Mongolian Diaspora, Naadam, Sports, Tuva, Wrestling, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolia’s International Conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”

By Katharina P. Coleman On 16-18 June 2022, Mongolia welcomed the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, other UN officials and representatives from over thirty countries to a three-day conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”. The conference allowed … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Policy, Gender, International Relations, Katharina Coleman, Mongolia and ..., Peacekeeping, UN | Leave a comment