Category Archives: Politics

Guest Post: Will the parties consider what the electorate wants to see on the ballots? There is a TV show for that. 

By E Lkhagva As far as I can remember I don’t think there has been election coverage in Mongolian democratic history where the public felt there has been enough debates between candidates, real  interviews or fair coverage in general. When … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Lkhagva Erdene, Media and Press, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Younger Mongolians | Leave a comment

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

Expectations of Coming Election

By Julian Dierkes With Marissa Smith and D Enkhtsetseg, I have set the stage for the coming parliamentary election in terms of the changes to the electoral system. I have previously offered some thoughts of what these changes might imply … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Policy, Governance, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, KhUN, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Social Issues, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Parliamentary Elections 2024: Yet Another New Election System

By Marissa J. Smith, Julian Dierkes, and Enkhtsetseg Dagva As many observers have noted, Mongolian election systems have changed from election to election for the past 20 years. In this post, we detail the form of the June 2024 Parliamentary … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Enkhtsetseg Dagva, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The ONE Challenge

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

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

The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue: A Time to Talk About Climate Change

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan  The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue (UBD) is gradually becoming an inclusive dialogue platform for Northeast Asian diplomats and academics to openly debate challenges and opportunities for the region. As the organizers – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Party Strategies under a Mixed Electoral System in 2024

By Julian Dierkes Recent constitutional amendments will have a profound impact on the 2024 parliamentary election especially as they will change candidates’ calculus about their nomination. Individuals seeking office or re-election will have the option of attempting to win one … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Party Landscape and Constitutional Amendments in Summer 2023

By Julian Dierkes and Marissa J. Smith While the MPP has now had a supermajority in parliament since 2016, the 2024 election is beginning to loom and the newly adopted constitutional amendment and amended Law on Elections with their shift to a … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

New Constitutional Amendments Toward Expansion of Parliament and Proportional Representation in Parliamentary Elections

By Julian Dierkes In mid-May it is looking like the constitution will be amended. D Amarbayasgalan has been very involved in process of proposing amendments as General Secretary of the MPP (more information about Amarbayasgalan) Үндсэн Хуулийн өөрчлөлтийн төслийг өргөн … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

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

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

Posted in Business, Demography, Politics, Pop Culture, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | 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: 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

Political Predictions and Why I Struggle with Making Them

By Julian Dierkes People expect political predictions from me as a longtime Mongolia observer and country specialist. Even when I feel relatively certain of some predictions I would make, there is always that nagging doubt that strange things might happen … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Ikh Khural 2024, Law, Politics, Reflection, Research on Mongolia | 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