Category Archives: Development

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

Comparative Impressions Kyrgyzstan-Mongolia

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Some posts this summer are taking on a bit of a travelogue character, simply because I’ve been travelling. But the Mongolia-Kyrgyzstan comparison has always been of some interest, as Kyrgyzstan is the most likely comparison country for … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Curios, Development, Kyrgyz Republic | Tagged | Leave a comment

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

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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

Silence on Afghanistan

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In August 2021, the Afghan government collapsed rather suddenly and for most observers, unexpectedly. Much ink has been spilled about what happened and what is to come for Afghanistan. Yet, as far as I can tell, the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Afghanistan, Bilateral Aid, Development, Diaspora, Foreign Policy, International Cooperation Fund, Mongolia and ..., Mongolian Diaspora, SCO | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Democracy Through the Lens of Animal Farm

Posted on February 28, 2021 by bulgan batdorj

By Bulgan Batdorj When I recently read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell, a book written as an allegorical critique of the Soviet Union in 1945, I could not help but compare the characters and story to Mongolia. The … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bulgan Batdorj, Corruption, Democracy, Development | 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

What are SMEs and the SME Fund?

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Marissa J. Smith Asking questions about the international politics of the Mongolian economy After reading the South China Morning Post article on the SME scandal, I decided to look more closely at the company profiled, Mongolian Charcoal. I soon … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Corruption, Development, International Cooperation Fund, Mongolia and ..., Public Policy, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Tourism Clusters, Domestic Tourism, and RVs

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes When I actually visit Mongolia (not often enough, but 1-4 times/year over past dozen years or so), I have many conversations where I learn more and more about Mongolia, but that also raise other questions. If I … Continue reading →

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

Technology Assessment Needed: Solar Power

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes To: PM Khurelsukh CC: Minister of Energy Davaasuren; Min of Science Tsogzolmaa; Min of Environment Tserenbat, Officer of Intl Cooperation, Min of Environment, G Tsogtbaatar; Min of Light Industry Batzorig; Dir, External Affairs, Green Climate Fund Oyun Climate … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Climate Change, Countryside, Development, Diversification, Environmental Movements, Geography, Gobi, Infrastructure, Renewables, Russia, Sovereign Wealth Fund | Tagged | Leave a comment

Inside Policy Workshops

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes This will be very familiar to Mongolian readers, but perhaps of more interest to non-Mongolian readers, or those who have not travelled in the countryside beyond tourism. My experience comes from election observation on the one hand, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Architecture, Curios, Development | Tagged | 1 Comment

Study Tours, Policy Implementation and Necessary Context

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Over the years I have been – mostly peripherally, though not for lack of trying – involved in various attempts to describe good practices from other countries to Mongolian policy makers in the hopes of seeing elements … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Development, Environment, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | 1 Comment

Present and Past of Mongolia: 15 Years of Changes as Observed by a Civil Engineer

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Kenji Maruoka Translated from Japanese by Ts Jangar Originally published as 「谷川,　聡. (Tanigawa Satoru).(2017). モンゴルの今と昔～2000 年から土木技術者として見てきた15 年の変遷～. KON BAINA UU. No１６ It was my first visit of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where I came to work for Japan’s ODA program in the early May … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bilateral Aid, Change, Development, Infrastructure, Social Change, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Implications of Power Politics for OT and Elsewhere “Offshore”

Posted on April 22, 2018 by marissa smith

By Marissa Smith About a week ago, Mendee and I agreed to write a pair of blog posts on the question of how OT and the current wave of corruption investigations and arrests, most recently involving former Prime Ministers Ch. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Development, Foreign Investment, Infrastructure, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, North Korea, Oyu Tolgoi | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cars in Mongolia

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Our image of Mongolia may be dominated by horses as a part of the landscape, but also as a mode of transport. But, of course, motorized transport is very common place today. Development Stages and Motorization I … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Change, Countryside, Curios, Development, Social Change, Social Issues, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia at Davos 2018: Party like it’s 2009?

Posted on February 1, 2018 by marissa smith

By Marissa Smith In recent years, Mongolia has regularly sent a delegation to the World Economic Forum at Davos. This year was somewhat less eventful than some years, when President Elbegdorj himself attended and presided over a “Mongolia Night” and … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Development, Economics, Environment, Environment, Erdenet, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, International Cooperation Fund, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Politics, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment