Category Archives: Civil Society

Parliamentary Elections 2024: Note on Third Parties, #1

by Marissa J. Smith While we wait for the State Audit Office to review and approve party platforms (I will be looking for them to appear on the General Election Commission’s website around April 26), I have prepared some observations … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Aspirational Statements as Legislation

By Julian Dierkes With the “Protecting Human Rights on Social Media Law” we have seen another round of what seems like fairly misguided legislation. Tegshbayar has already questioned the need for an expedited process and other aspects for this law. … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Governance, JD Democratization, Judiciary, Law, Media and Press, Politics, Protest, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

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: The Scary Part about ‘Our Common Geopolitical Language’

By Peter W. Fong Way back in 2018, I led a first-ever scientific expedition from the headwaters of Mongolia’s Selenge River to Russia’s Lake Baikal, one of our planet’s great environmental treasures. In those halcyon days, our international team of … Continue reading

Posted in Countryside, Environmental Movements, International Relations, Renewables, River Movements, Russia, Water | Leave a comment

December 2022 Protests

By Julian Dierkes Once again, following protests in April 2022, primarily younger Mongolians took to Sukhbaatar Square in protest in early December. I initially wrote about these protests for The Diplomat, pointing out the simmering corruption worries connected to state-owned … Continue reading

Posted in China, Corruption, Erdenes Mongol, JD Democratization, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest, Protest, Tavan Tolgoi, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

State-Socialist Legacies and Selective Perception of Propaganda

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

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

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

Russophiles, Russophones and Russophobes

By Julian Dierkes Reactions to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have been quite visible on Twitter. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s visit to Ulaanbaatar on July 5 have brought many of these reactions to the fore again. Here’s a prominent and strongly-worded … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Protest, Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Understanding the Challenges of Water Development and Hydropower Plant Projects

By BOLORMAA Purevjav A “National Program for renewable energy 2005-2020” of Mongolia was adopted in 2005 planning the development of feasibility studies for the construction of large hydropower plants on the Selenge, Eg and Orkhon rivers. The Government of Mongolia … Continue reading

Posted in Bolormaa Purevjav, Environment, Environmental Movements, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Policy, Regulation, River Movements, Russia, Water | Leave a comment

Mongolia and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Part 2

By Marissa J. Smith It is now a month since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This post follows up from a previous one and relates events that have occurred in the last two weeks. While the … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Protest, Protest, Russia, UN | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Stepping Up Climate Action Represents a Clear Win for the Environment, People and the Economy

By Annaka Peterson Building a green economy and investing in climate action has been on the agenda of the Government of Mongolia for some time, and it is an increasingly important part of the national development agenda. It goes without … Continue reading

Posted in Annaka Peterson, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Movements | Leave a comment

Untold Blogpost 19: Building an Inclusive Society Together

By Degi Bolormunkh Our guest today is Ms. Gerel, the President of the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind (MNFB). Ms. Gerel gives us an introduction to some of the work the MNFB does, offers her personal experience and advice, … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Health, Inequality, People with Disabilities, Podcast, Policy, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Guest Post: #NONAADAM vs #YESNAADAM – Conflict Between Urban and Rural Values in Mongolia

By Usukhbold Chimedregzen During the first week of July 2021, Mongolia has seen two opposing protest groups who gathered at Sukhbaatar Square in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. On the surface, it appeared that the protestors had grievances related to celebrating … Continue reading

Posted in Countryside, Elections, Health, Mongolian People's Party, Naadam, Protest, Public Policy, Social Issues, Social Movements, Ulaanbaatar, Usukhbold Chimedregzen | Leave a comment

Untold Blogpost Episode 7: Create Your Own Future

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Our guest Sambuudanzan Ganzorig lives in Arkhangai Aimag, approximately 430 kilometers away from the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. He is the President of the Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities in Arkhangai Aimag. Sambuudanzan is also a … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Countryside, Health, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, Olympics, People with Disabilities, Podcast, Sports | Tagged | Leave a comment

More on Third Parties: ATOZN

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

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