Category Archives: Author

Fascist Symbolism in Mongolia

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Niels Hegewisch and Julian Dierkes Recent attention to ethno-rock sensation The Hu has revived concerns about the (seeming) use of fascist iconography in Mongolian politics. While fascist symbols are immediately distasteful to Western observers, in Asia such symbols need … Continue reading →

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Posted in Music, Music, Nationalism, Niels Hegewisch, Politics, Pop Culture, Populism, Protest, Social Issues, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Gender Mainstreaming in Public Administration

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Oyuntuya Shagdarsuren At a glance, Mongolia may seem like a ‘paradise for men’ given the high status of men or a ‘paradise for women’ given the country’s high rankings on human development indices. Yet, the gender equality situation remains … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gender, Oyuntuya Shagdarsuren, Public Policy, Public Service, Social Change, Social Issues | Leave a comment

Back to the 2008 Future in Voting?

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Enkhtsetseg D and Julian Dierkes After toying with the idea of a mixed electoral system, in which 50 seats were to be distributed based on the FPTP system and 26 seats to be distributed proportionally from an open party … Continue reading →

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Posted in Elections, Enkhtsetseg Dagva, Ikh Khural 2020, JD Democratization, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Review S Ruhlmann “Inviting Happiness: Food Sharing in Post-Communist Mongolia”

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Jade Marie Richards Sandrine Ruhlmann. 2019. Inviting Happiness: Food Sharing in Post-Communist Mongolia. Leiden: Brill, 2019. 288pp. ISBN 978-90-04-41063-3 So much recent work in the anthropology of Mongolia focuses on broad scale politico-economic transformation, urbanisation or the divisive mining … Continue reading →

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Posted in Anthropology, Change, Countryside, Food, Jade Marie Richards, Publications, Research on Mongolia, Reviews | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Doping in Mongolian Wrestling

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Zorigtkhuu B Last year, I wrote a brief blog post about some of the political issues surrounding Mongolian wrestling. For example, military titles, associational rivalry, and doping, etc. This year’s wrestling tournament has become a hot topic for the … Continue reading →

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

Guest Post: Don’t Forget the Ground Game

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By David Chace You are in a rush for work, so you need to jog it. However, this means you need to beat the obstacle course outside. You need to weave through parked cars, ruts on the sidewalks and a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, City Planning, David Chace, eDemocracy, Governance, Public Policy, Social Change, Transportation, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Smart Air

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Nathan Hsieh The Problem The air quality of Ulaanbaatar has been a highly politicized topic that millions of aid dollars and institutions have deliberated on. Yet, if one were to approach any random Ulaanbaatarite and state that the air … Continue reading →

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Posted in Air Pollution, Nathaniel Hsieh, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Cybersecurity or Cybercensorship?

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Otgonpurev M According to an article by ikon.mn policymakers in the Mongolian parliament perceive fake news that appear on social networks as a cyber attack.  Officials have responded to the demand to combat cyber harassment and the spread of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Law, Media and Press, Otgonpurev Mendsaikhan, Security Apparatus, Social Change, Social Media | Leave a comment

Toward a Transition Away from Coal

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Sandeep Pai and Julian Dierkes In November 2018, Tsenguun T and Aldarsaikhan T wrote a guest post describing the Mongolian podcast scene. Since then, more podcasts have sprung up, for example, recent guest post co-author Boldsaikhan S is involved … Continue reading →

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Posted in Air Pollution, China, Climate Change, Development, Diversification, Energy, Foreign Investment, Infrastructure, Podcast, Policy, Policy, Renewables, Sandeep Pai, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Beginning of the End of Democracy?

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Boldsaikhan Sambuu Mongolians have voiced strong reactions to the proposal and the passage of a series of amendments to the laws governing the appointment and dismissal of judges, the Prosecutor General, and the Head of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Boldsaikhan Sambuu, Corruption, Governance, JD Democratization, Judiciary, Law, Public Service | Leave a comment

Guest Post: China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Connor Judge and Sanchir Jargalsaikhan Myriad conferences, expos, forums and articles have recently elevated the profile of acronyms “OBOR” and “BRI” to a par with “blockchain,” the latter being a ground-breaking technology that few fully understand, but which has … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Connor Judge, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Policy, Russia, Sanchir Jargalsaikhan, SCO | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Hip Hop in Politics

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Paweł Szczap With hip-hop culture being often highly saturated with political and social commentaries, so far I have mostly concentrated on the presence of nationalist discourse within the Mongolian hip-hop scene. There are loads of material for research and … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ikh Khural 2016, Music, Music, Party Politics, Paweł Szczap, Politics, Pop Culture, Presidential 2017, Ulaanbaatar, Youth | Leave a comment

From Transparency to a Participatory Revolution

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Damdinnyam G [Mongolian Version: “МОНГОЛЧУУД: Ил тод байдлаас зѳв оролцооны хувьсгал руу…“] Even by the standards of Mongolian politics, the last two months have been eventful. Scandals, no confidence votes, demonstrations… one might think it’s an … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Damdinnyam Gongor, Law, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Change, Social Movements, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Connecting Mongols Between Mongolia and China Through Hip Hop

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Thalea Stokes The Project My time in Mongolia and China has been towards the aim of coming to a deeper understanding of Mongolian hip hop culture in both nations, and how those cultures interact, intertwine, and inform each other. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Mongolians in China, Music, Nationalism, Pop Culture, Research on Mongolia, Social Change, Society and Culture, Thalea Stokes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Podcasting Mongolia

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Tsenguun T & Aldarsaikhan T The Mongolian podcasting scene is growing rapidly since the production of the first Mongolian podcast Үлдэх Үг in mid-2016. There are close to 20 Mongolian podcasts covering various topics today, and this number is … Continue reading →

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Posted in Aldarsaikhan Tuvshinbat, Business, City Planning, Environment, Gender, Higher Education, LGBTI, Media and Press, Podcast, Politics, Social Change, Social Media, Society and Culture, Tsenguun Tumurkhuyag, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment