Category Archives: Politics

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

Political Predictions and Why I Struggle with Making Them

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Ikh Khural 2024, Law, Politics, Reflection, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Aspirational Statements as Legislation

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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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

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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Posted in Civil Society, Constitution, Darambazar Tegshbayar, Human Rights, Law, Media and Press, Politics, Protest, Social Media | Leave a comment

Oyun-Erdene Cabinet, Version 01/2023

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith A cabinet reshuffle has opened the new year of 2023, in the wake of a December marked by large demonstrations that climaxed with an attempted storming of the Government Building. A major focus of these demonstrations … Continue reading →

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Posted in Government, Inequality, Inflation, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Populism, Tavan Tolgoi, Youth | Leave a comment

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 →

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

Flop 5 der mongolischen Politik

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Ich höre inzwischen sehr gerne Podcasts, sei es um die Bundesliga zu verfolgen, kanadische Nachrichten besser zu verstehen, oder auch Entwicklungen in Deutschland nicht ganz aus dem Auge zu verlieren. Einer meiner Lieblingspodcasts in diesem Zusammenhang ist … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democracy, Germany, History, Media and Press, Mining, Party Politics, Podcast, Politics, Social Media | Tagged | 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 →

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

December 2022 Protests

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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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

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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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

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 →

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

Challenging Supermajority

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Following the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential election, there were some fears that the MPP’s electoral wins and occupation of all three highest offices would lead to some kind of one-party domination. Most readers will recall then-Pres … Continue reading →

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

Guest Post: Mongolia’s New PM-In-Waiting: Who Is D Amarbayasgalan?

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Amar Adiya New Cabinet Chief Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan is increasingly emerging to be a likely successor to Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene in the future, i.e., post-2024 election. As new ministers are settling into their roles following August cabinet reshuffle, Amarbayasgalan … Continue reading →

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Posted in Amar Adiya, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Sukhgerel Dugersuren: Criminal or Marmite Character?

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

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 →

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Posted in Environmental Movements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Politics, Protest, Protest, Renewables, Security Apparatus | Leave a comment

Oyun-Erdene Cabinet, Post-Constitutional Change

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith The “double-deel” rule, part of the Constitution, whereby only the Prime Minister and four cabinet ministers may also be MPs, has just been overturned. There are now ten new members of the Cabinet, eight of whom … Continue reading →

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Posted in Government, Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment