Category Archives: Business

Guest Post: Mutton and Mahogany: Mongolia’s 62-year Friendship with Laos Continues

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Julian Dierkes

By Benjamin Nuland On June 11th 2024, Mongolia welcomed the Laotian president to Sukhbaatar Square for the first time since 2007. Thongloun Sisoulith’s arrival celebrated a 62-year long friendship between Laos and Mongolia and decades of goodwill. In the 1980s … Continue reading →

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Posted in ASEAN, Benjamin Nuland, Diversification, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Laos, Mongolia and ..., Policy | Leave a comment

The ONE Challenge

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Because few other people focus much of their attention on Mongolia, I often get asked questions that are more fundamental then I might be on other topics. In a conversation recently, sparked by the state visit of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Countryside, Democracy, Demography, Development, Diversification, Economics, Environment, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Reflection, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Charting a New Path: Understanding the Effects of Generational Shift on Politics and Economics

Posted on May 1, 2023 by bulgan batdorj

By Bulgan Batdorj  Mongolians born in the 1970s and 80s experienced the country’s transition from communism to democracy in 1990 at a relatively young age. This is a generation that grew up during shaky economic times and a shifting cultural … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Demography, Politics, Pop Culture, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

State-Socialist Legacies and Selective Perception of Propaganda

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Every so often, my conversations, especially on visits to Mongolia which are so valuable for my thinking, touch on bigger issues that are challenging to frame as a blog post. This is one of those attempts to … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Dissertation Ideas, Gender, History, JD Democratization, Policy, Politics, Protest, Protest, Reflection, Social Issues, Social Movements, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Atmospheric Observations

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes My August trip to Mongolia was the first visit after over 30 months of global COVID19 restrictions. I have already taken note of some of the visual and consumer changes I observed in Ulaanbaatar. But, I also … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Demography, Reflection, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Letting the Sun Shine on Garbage?

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In thinking about economic diversification, I have previously dreamed about a long-term strategic approach for Mongolia. Such an approach would involve a taking stock of Mongolia’s riches (other than mineral resources), and then invest into applied research … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Countryside, Curios, Diversification, Garbage | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms: Economic Policy

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Parties’ platforms contain numerous promises to restore the economy and create new jobs by expanding the heavy industry sector. This year’s elections are taking place against the backdrop of the unforeseen economic crisis caused … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Banking, Batbold Otgonbayar, Business, Democratic Party, Diversification, Employment, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | Leave a comment

US Interactions Not a Win for Mongolia

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Together with Mendee, I’ve tried to describe the recent flurry of US-Mongolia interactions. In brief, interactions are motivated by a US desire to counter China in its own backyard. For Mongolia, a strategic partnership with the US … Continue reading →

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Posted in Cashmere, China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Russia, SCO, United States | Leave a comment

Tourism: Standardization in Diversification

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In June, I visited Mongolia as a tourist for the first time. Well, sort of. On my 26th visit to Mongolia, I accompanied a tour to provide some insights into contemporary Mongolia to complement a Mongolian tour … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Diversification, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Addressing Meat Prices through Policy not Populism

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes A very curious spectacle recently to see meat warehouses raided by the General Intelligence Agency. I have seen little discussion of the legality of such raids which look a bit like the action taken against a mining … Continue reading →

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Posted in Agriculture, Countryside, Diversification, Employment, Herding, Public Policy | Tagged | 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

Challenges Arising from Growing National Herd

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes On an August 2018 trip to Western Mongolia, I heard a lot of countryside reports that the value of animal products, especially meat, is rapidly declining, exacerbating poverty, unemployment, migration to towns and cities, etc. When you … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Diversification, Flooding, Grassland, Health, Infrastructure | 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 →

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

Guest Post: An “Alternate Economy” Run by Chieftains

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By B Naidalaa This article was originally published on Ikon.mn on Nov 7 2018 as “Монгол дахь УЛСТӨРИЙН корпорацийн АЖИЛЧДАД ХЭЛЭХ ҮГ” The term “informal economy” or “shadow economy” applies to a segment of the economy  that is not registered, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Badrakh Naidalaa, Business, Corruption, Diversification, Policy, Politics, Public Policy | Leave a comment