Category Archives: International Relations

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 →

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

Guest Post: Sino-Mongolian Relations: A New Era?

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

By Borjgin Shurentana On November 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to welcome the state visit of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsuh. A 21-gun salute was fired on Tiananmen Square, and Khurelsuh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Borjgin Shurentana, China, Foreign Policy, Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, International Relations, Mongolians in China, Oyu Tolgoi, Trade | Leave a comment

Guest Post: The Scary Part about ‘Our Common Geopolitical Language’

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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

Can Mongolia Resist Russia?

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine were a major topic of conversation during my visit to Mongolia this August. I had arrived with a sense of frustration that the MPP government wouldn’t publicly take a stance … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Why Is the UB Dialogue Important?

Posted on July 25, 2022 by mendee

By Soyolgerel Nyamjav and Mendee Jargalsaikhan Amidst increased geopolitical tensions and lingering pandemic effects, Mongolia, asmall, landlocked state hosted three major international in-person events in June.Khaan Quest, an annual multinational peacekeeping exercise, was organized at the Five Hills Peace Support … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Germany, International Relations, Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, UN, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolia’s International Conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Katharina P. Coleman On 16-18 June 2022, Mongolia welcomed the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, other UN officials and representatives from over thirty countries to a three-day conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping”. The conference allowed … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Gender, International Relations, Katharina Coleman, Mongolia and ..., Peacekeeping, UN | Leave a comment

Russophiles, Russophones and Russophobes

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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

Posted on March 29, 2022 by marissa smith

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

SCO Risks: Example Refugees

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes An SCO summit is looming: Sept 16-17 in Dushanbe. With it comes that seemingly perennial question about Mongolia’s role in the organization. Chinese Pressure? It is fair to assume, I think, that the Chinese regime will continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Asia, Ethnic Groups, Human Rights, International Relations, Kazakhs, Mongolians in China, SCO | Tagged | Leave a comment

EIAS Talk: Political Transformations, Upcoming Presidential Election

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

I recently discussed Mongolia’s political trajectory toward the June 9 presidential election with Lin Goethals and Allesandra Tamponi at the European Institute for Asian Studies.

Posted in Democracy, Elections, International Relations, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2021, Video | Leave a comment

Podcast: 77Nation

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

On Dec 11 2020, I appeared on the 77Nation podcast for a wide-ranging discussion of Mongolian politics with L Bolor, E Enkhtamir, and B Geser.

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, International Relations, Podcast, Politics | Leave a comment

Geopolitics of Mongolia Podcast

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

Julian Dierkes recently spoke to Michael Hilliard about Mongolia’s foreign relations in an extended show of  The Red Line Podcast focused on geopolitics.

Posted in China, Inner Mongolia, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Mongolians in China, Podcast, Russia | Leave a comment

Friends in Defence of Democracy?

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Throughout the past 30 years of democratic foreign policy, Mongolia has been a multi-lateral joiner, i.e. eager to participate in international initiatives that raise its profile, in particular aimed at deepening relationships with “Third Neighbours”. Now, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., UN | Leave a comment

US Offensive toward Mongolia

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan Suddenly, there has been a flurry of meetings between Mongolian and U.S. officials and, even more surprising, a flurry of official visits to Mongolia that looks likely to lead to a vice-presidential visit. The … Continue reading →

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