Category Archives: International Relations

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 | 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

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 →

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

Guest Post: China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Connor Judge and Sanchir Jargalsaikhan Myriad conferences, expos, forums and articles have recently elevated the profile of acronyms “OBOR” and “BRI” to a par with “blockchain,” the latter being a ground-breaking technology that few fully understand, but which has … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Connor Judge, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Policy, Russia, Sanchir Jargalsaikhan, SCO | Leave a comment

Mongolia doesn’t need to join the SCO

Posted on June 7, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Julian Dierkes Like Switzerland for NATO, Mongolia’s absence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) creates a neutral spot in the Chinese-led regional grouping. But, Mongolia neither hinders any dreams of the creators nor presents any benefits … Continue reading →

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

Elevate Ulaanbaatar Dialogue

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

OPINION By Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan Mongolia is in a good position to contribute to renewed dialogue with North Korea in order to avert confrontations and, in the long run, lead to more constructive interactions. In an eventful Spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, China, Germany, International Relations, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, United States | Tagged | 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 →

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

SOMO Report “Mining Taxes”

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) published a report focused on a whole list of issues related to financial and governance structures for the Oyu Tolgoi project. The report was written by SOMO’s Vincent Kiezebrink and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Corruption, EU, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | 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 →

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

New President, New Foreign Policy?

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolian constitution assigns responsibility for international relations to the president. Ts Elbegdorj has been very active in this regard for the past eight years of his two terms as president. With the election campaign getting ready … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Presidential 2017, Russia, South Korea, UN, United States | Tagged | 1 Comment

M vs Genco

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The MPP has selected its chairman, Enkhbold M, to be nominated as candidate in the June 26 presidential election. The DP appears to have selected Battulga Kh., pending a party congress. One question remains: Will Enkhbayar N … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Populism, Presidential 2017, Public Policy | Tagged | 4 Comments